LOS ANGELES -- As he stood in the tunnel of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Dez Bryant would not play against the Los Angeles Rams, joining Tony Romo, Jason Witten and Tyron Smith on the sidelines.

Except Bryant played. He not only played, he was, well, Dez Bryant.

Bryant caught two passes from Dak Prescott for 28 yards in the Rams' 28-24 win. One was on a back-shoulder throw and the other was a leaping grab on a fade for a 10-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

"Ain't no way I was going to sit," Bryant said. "I needed that. I needed to be on the field. I wanted to see something different. I felt different. I felt like I ran different, feel like I moved different. Just wanted to test myself."

Unofficially, Bryant played 10 snaps.

Coach Jason Garrett said the plan was to play Bryant all along.

"He just needs to play," Garrett said. "He's been away from it and he needed to be out there. He needed to run routes against an NFL corner in a game setting. He’ll continue to do that over the course of the preseason. He’s ready for it. Mentally and emotionally he was ready to play and I thought he did a nice job taking advantage of his opportunities."

Bryant played in only nine games last season because of a broken right foot. He caught just 31 passes for 401 yards and three touchdowns.

Bryant’s touchdown catch was reminiscent of the "catch that wasn't" against the Green Bay Packers in the 2014 playoffs. Bryant leaped, put the ball over the goal line and then tucked it to his body. The play was reviewed, but Bryant knew it was a catch.

"Oh no, there was no reminiscing at all," Bryant said. "It was kinda sorta similar but I let that one slide. That's a little chip I got on my shoulder, man. I think that's my reason I'm playing the way I'm playing today."

The Cowboys never really saw a true, full-strength Bryant last season. He was limited during training camp in 2015 by a hamstring injury and then broke his foot in the season opener. He returned after missing five games but was not as explosive. He was further hampered by a knee injury he suffered against the Philadelphia Eagles in November.

He had a second foot surgery in January and did not take part in team drills during the offseason. He was held out of one training camp practice by the coaches to give him some extra rest.

"Kind of felt the same to me," Cowboys offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said of Bryant's performance Saturday. "Just his presence."