FRISCO, Texas _ If the embarrassing loss to the Indianapolis Colts wasn't enough, Jaylon Smith has something else to grind his gears for Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Dallas Cowboys' linebacker was disappointed to learn that he hadn't earned a Pro Bowl selection after a stellar season.
"Some of it's blasphemy," Smith said, perhaps only half-kidding. "You just got to continue to work. It's all about creating the edge. I love this game and I'll keep playing it hard."
Smith posted a solitary chin-scratching emoji on Twitter on Tuesday night after the Pro Bowl announcement was made.
Part of the Pro Bowl issue for Smith could have been his linebacker teammate Leighton Vander Esch. The rookie and Smith likely worked against each other on earning enough Pro Bowl votes. Vander Esch has a team-high 117 tackles and Smith is second with 108.
"One thing Leighton and I want to do is we want to compete at a high level and we've been able to display that each and every week," he said. "We make each other better for sure."
After allowing a season-high 178 rushing yards to the Colts, however, Smith and Vander Esch will have an added bit of inspiration against the Tampa Bay Bucs on Sunday.
"That's the beauty of the game. You get another week to kind of revive and kind of redeem yourself," Smith said. "We're thankful for this opportunity and we're going to go out and play the game the right way."
Extra motivation, Smith said, isn't necessary. If the Pro Bowl snub and last week's thud aren't enough, there's also that business of winning the NFC East title with a victory.
"No, I've been scarred too many times in my life to need something to motivate me. I've got enough of that," he said. "It's about getting wins, that's where my head is."
