Perhaps no player struggled more in the Bucs’ 31-29 win over the Cowboys than cornerback Jamel Dean. The Bucs were reliant on the big cornerback following a game-ending elbow injury to Sean Murphy-Bunting, but he had a rough go of it stopping the Cowboys’ elite receivers.

Dean surrendered a touchdown reception to Amari Cooper in the second quarter. The third-year corner also failed to bottle up the likes of CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup when matched up on the outside. If that wasn’t enough, Dean also committed three of the Bucs’ 11 penalties in the game, including two during the same play.

You could chalk it up to a bad game for Dean, who’s had his ups-and-downs over three years. But Bruce Arians alluded to some personal things that may have contributed to the Auburn product’s subpar performance.

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“He had some other things going on that affected him,” Arians said on Tuesday. “We got all the confidence in the world, nothing that he can’t fix real fast.”

When asked he if could elaborate on what that meant, Arians said he would not.

Though it was not the best game for Dean on Thursday night, he shouldn’t be counted out yet. If you recall the Bucs’ regular season game against the Packers last season, many thought the game could be over after the team went down 10-0 in the first quarter.

But it was Dean who intercepted Aaron Rodgers and took it to the the house for a pick-six, completely shifting the momentum of the game for the rest of the afternoon.

The former third round pick will need another momentum swing come Sunday.

“Jamel Dean will bounce back,” Arians said. “He’ll be fine.”