Time heals most wounds, but not this one for Darius Slay. The former All-Pro cornerback for the Lions said he still hates the Cowboys after "they cheated us in the playoffs in 2014."
"When Dez Bryant ran up on the field, they pulled the flag, yeah, they cheated us," Slay told former Steelers cornerback Bryant McFadden on the All Things Covered podcast this week.
You remember. Lions up 20-17 midway through the fourth, Matthew Stafford to Brandon Pettigrew on third down, flag on Cowboys LB Anthony Hitchens for pass interference. Dez Bryant storms onto the field to protest without getting penalized for not wearing his helmet. The officials huddle up and reverse the call on Hitchens. The Lions punt -- a shank by Sam Martin -- and the Cowboys score the game-winning touchdown on the ensuing drive.
Slay was a key member of that Lions team that had the second best defense in the NFL and legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. (He did a darn good job that day covering Bryant.) Six years later, toward the end of the disastrous reign of Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia, Slay was on the trade block and caught wind of interest from the Cowboys.
"I heard Dallas had wanted to trade for me. I said, 'Nah, I ain’t going there.' No sir," said Slay.
Had the Cowboys reached an agreement with the Lions, Slay said he would've rejected it.
"I wasn’t going to Dallas," he said. "I couldn’t stand them. They cheated us."
"It runs deep," he said. "Runs deep."
Slay was eventually traded to the Eagles, where he's having another terrific season -- and where he gets to play the Cowboys twice a year.