ARLINGTON, Texas -- Spectacular? Sure. Surprising? Not in the least.

The leaping, juggling, tightly contested 37-yard catch on third-and-long to set up the game-winning kick in Sunday's 20-17 overtime victory over the Houston Texans is the kind of play the Dallas Cowboys expect Dez Bryant to make.

Dez Bryant called his spectacular overtime catch against the Texans the most clutch of his career. AP Photo/Brandon Wade

"I've got to come down with it," said Bryant, who saved the best for last in his nine-catch, 85-yard, one-touchdown day.

This is a guy whose college receivers coach at Oklahoma State, Gunter Brewer, called the best he'd ever seen at going up for a jump ball. And Brewer coached a young man by the name of Randy Moss at Marshall.

Heck, it's almost ho-hum when Bryant makes that kind of catch during training camp. It happens at least a couple of times per week.

"Dez did what he does," quarterback Tony Romo said.

"It's just Dez being Dez," receiver Terrance Williams said.

"I've seen him make it a million times," tight end Jason Witten said.

Asked where this ranks among the best plays he's made, Bryant bluntly replied, "Let's see, I've got a lot of 'em. I've got to get back to you."

Hey, it ain't bragging if it's true. But never before has the spectacular mattered so much for Bryant, who agreed that it was the most clutch catch of his five-year career.

Bryant, who really didn't mean to boast, gave credit to head coach Jason Garrett for having the Cowboys practice that situation so often and Romo for recognizing the one-on-one matchup with cornerback Jonathan Joseph and exploiting it.

But this play wasn't about execution. It was about extraordinary acrobatic ability.

Joseph said he couldn't have had any better coverage on the play, and that's true. He wasn't fooled when Bryant stuttered his feet before sprinting up the left sideline. He was in Bryant's face with a hand up when the ball arrived, then drove the receiver into the turf.

It just didn't matter.

Bryant jumped over Joseph and reached around the cornerback's outstretched right arm to get both hands on the ball. Bryant got full control of the ball as his back was parallel to the ground just before being slammed to the AT&T Stadium turf.

"When you have a guy like Dez Bryant, sometimes you start taking those things for granted," Garrett said. "But that's not easy. I think he goes up and gets the ball in contested situations as well as any receiver in the league."

Anybody who has ever seen Bryant play knew he was capable of such a dynamic play. He's determined to prove the Cowboys can depend on him in the most important moments.

"He goes to another level the higher the stakes," Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. "I think you saw that. But not that Dez Bryant doesn't try to make every play he can, but he goes to another level when it's putting on. He's that guy that kind of says 'Give it to me' when it's on the line."

These are the moments that Bryant, who was fascinated as a kid by the clutch exploits of his sports heroes like Michael Jordan, dreams about. These are the opportunities that Bryant lives for.

"To be honest, I love it," Bryant said. "These situations I expect it at all times. It's because I love to make plays, especially in these situations. I'm not nervous at all."

And nobody was surprised, as spectacular as the clutch catch was. It's just what Dez does.