ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Detroit Lions refused to let Dez Bryant beat them. They dared the Dallas Cowboys to win with other receivers.

Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley seized the moment on a national stage.

The Lions accomplished their goal of containing the Cowboys' most explosive weapon, holding Bryant to three catches for 48 yards. But the All-Pro receiver was far from a nonfactor, as his presence created one-on-one matchups for Dallas' lesser known receivers to exploit.

Williams, a second-year receiver who was quiet the second half of the season, was the star of Sunday's 24-20 wild-card win against the Lions. He caught three passes for 92 yards, scoring the Cowboys' first and last touchdowns of the game.

Beasley, the smallest player on the field, also played a big role in the Cowboys' first playoff win in five years. He caught four passes for 63 yards, including critical receptions of two of Dallas' scoring drives in the second half.

"They definitely were coming out there trying to take away Dez," Beasley said. "Some of us needed to come through. If they're going to take away our guy like that, we've got to make plays for Tony [Romo]. We've got to give him some place to throw the ball and we were able to do that tonight."

Romo only targeted Bryant three times all game, hitting him on shallow crossing routes on each occasion. Bryant broke a tackle and gained 43 yards on one, accounting for more than half the yardage of the drive that ended with DeMarco Murray's 1-yard touchdown run.

Other than that, it was a Decoy Dez kind of day.

The Detroit defense dictated that the Cowboys count on Williams and Beasley, a couple of receivers who finished the regular season with 37 catches apiece, combining for fewer receptions, touchdowns and yards than Bryant. And that's a smart strategy, by the way, especially considering the fact Bryant scored 10 touchdowns during Dallas' 6-1 finish.

"Dez is a different type of animal," Beasley said. "But that's what we have to do. If they take away Dez, we've got to make them pay."

As Bryant said, "I tell them all the time to take advantage of the opportunities and we'll be all right."

Williams, in particular, made the Lions pay a steep price. He's been a high bang-per-ball threat -- eight touchdowns on only 64 targets during the regular season -- and displayed his big-play ability when Dallas desperately needed it Sunday afternoon.

The Cowboys' hopes seemed slim when Williams beat cornerback Cassius Vaughn on a slant, raced past safety James Ihedigbo and sprinted into the end zone for a 76-yard score with 1:37 remaining in the first half. Suddenly, after sputtering offensively for most of the half, the Cowboys were down only one score.

Williams' game-winning 8-yard touchdown catch wasn't by design. He broke off a crossing route when he saw Romo buying extra time, reversed direction and caught a ball right in front of Bryant in the back of the end zone.

"I thought I was going to throw in the back to Dez and in that process Terrance just stops abruptly," Romo said. "Right when I was about to throw it to Dez, I see that and change the arm angle to throw it to Terrance at the last moment. It is a credit to him to just keep moving and then all of a sudden find the open spot. Not everyone just does that."

The Lions managed to find a way to keep one of the game's most dominant, dangerous receivers in check. It just wasn't enough to win.

There's a good chance the Green Bay Packers will have a similar game plan. That'd be fine with Williams and Beasley.

"Whenever you see teams try to double-team him or send three people toward him, I really do just take it to heart and have the pride in it to where I will never let him down," Williams said. "Whenever Tony does give me a chance to make a play, I will make that play.

"Because that man [Bryant], whenever he sees one-on-one coverage, he's the best in the league. We try to make defenses play fair and not try to lean to Dez and not try to lean to [tight end Jason Witten]. That sends a message that you can't keep doing this because you've got more people to worry about."