ARLINGTON, Texas - It was never a secret how Patrick Crayton felt about losing two jobs over the past week.
What was unknown was how he would react.
"I knew he was (angry)," receivers coach Ray Sherman said after Sunday's 37-21 win, in which Crayton's two touchdowns were very much the difference. "The main thing is he was controlled. There wasn't anything that was out of line, he was very controlled with his emotions and he took it out on the football field."
That he did. Crayton channeled his frustrations into a five-yard touchdown catch to put the Cowboys up by 10 just before the half, and a career first, the 73-yard punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Crayton gave Tony Romo credit for extending the play to close out the two-minute drill in the second quarter, and said the other 10 guys on the punt return unit opened things up for his long score. Maybe nobody feels as good as Crayton about the two big plays, though, the sixth-year receiver emphasizing the fact they helped the Cowboys climb to 4-2.
After being demoted to the third wide receiver and backup punt returner in the last week, Crayton said Wednesday he wished the Cowboys coaches had done a better job of communicating their decisions to move him down. On Sunday he said things were improved after speaking to his coaches.
"I wasn't ever not cool with them," Crayton said. "We've got a better understanding about some things and it's good. . . . We talked it out, that's all that needs to be said. We talked it out."
Wade Phillips had played coy during the week of preparation about whether Crayton would be a first-teamer or not. Though he announced Miles Austin would be starting, he wasn't saying whether Roy Williams' ribs were well enough to keep Crayton out of the lineup.
As it turned out, Williams and Crayton both were off the field for the Cowboys' first play. From then on, Crayton took the third receiver's reps.
It was a three-wide set when the Cowboys lined up for second-and-goal from Atlanta's five near the end of the first half. Romo dropped back to throw, wriggled out of three would-be sacks then motioned Crayton back to the left, the two hooking up for an easy touchdown. Crayton may have the best feel for his quarterback of any receiver on the team. The receiver joked after the game that's because they have some things in common.
"That's what those low draft pick, free agent guys do," Crayton said. "We grind it out, baby, we grind it out. That's what we've got to do."
The punt return score may have been the bigger surprise. Though Crayton wasn't going to be starting on offense, everyone knew he would still have a big role as the No. 3 receiver. With the signing of Allen Rossum, though, Crayton's punt return days were supposed to be over.
After the game he got a good laugh at the people begging the Cowboys to replace him for so long.
"I've been dealing with it my whole career. He can't get it done, he can't get it done," Crayton said. "He's too slow, he can't run. He ain't fast, he ain't a deep threat. We've got him back there to catch punts because he can catch 'em. He's not really going to score, just catch 'em."
It's true, one of the reasons Crayton has been the Cowboys' punt returner for much of his career is because he is steady. That dependability is part of what has made him a good pro for so long.
And being a pro is what helped Crayton soldier through the two toughest weeks of his career.
"Things happen," Sherman said. "You can't get down, you can't look at things as being a demotion. Look at it as what can we do to make the team better, and what I told him, I said 'stay professional.' He was professional all week, even though deep down inside he had to prove something."
Whoever it was Crayton had to prove himself to on Sunday, he succeeded.
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