Dez: We Didn't Work Hard Enough in Recent Years

The Cowboys have finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs in each of the last three years

In each of the past three seasons, the Dallas Cowboys have finished 8-8 and out of the playoffs.

In those years, wide receiver Dez Bryant believes, the team didn’t work as hard as they needed to in order to get over the hump.

"I'm going to give you my honest opinion. The years that we did go 8-8, I think – me, because this is just how I am--I don't think we worked hard enough," Bryant said, per ESPN Dallas. "I'm not saying we didn't work, like, I mean the offseason, during the OTAs--not the coaches. That's on us. The first thing that I did right after the game, we lost to Philadelphia (2013), my brother will tell you--I was working out the next day. Just because I felt like 'Damn, we didn't do enough.'

“Obviously we didn't do enough, they was the better team. It feels different, it's a lot different--it's a lot different from last year. We're more together, we want it more, we've got the same vision, and that's kind of hard when you've got a team like that."

On Sunday, the Cowboys will face the New York Giants, who--back in 2011--were the first to eliminate an 8-7 Cowboys team in a Week 17 win-and-in game. The Redskins accomplished the feat in 2012 and the Eagles did it last year.

"It's a big game, they are better than what their record shows and we can't go in under estimating our opponent," Bryant said of the Giants. “They are a great football team and we got to come out and stick to our plan and execute these plays the best way we possibly can to get that victory."

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