Lamb Doing It All In Big D
It wasn’t long ago that wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was upset with how he was being used.
He complained, in a subtle way, about not getting the ball after making five catches for 61 yards over 120 minutes of action against New England and San Francisco in back-to-back weeks.
Head coach Mike McCarthy agreed and has since fed Lamb the football.
That was on display Sunday in the City of Brotherly Love.
Lamb did all he could to help the Cowboys get out of Philadelphia with a victory.
He tied a career high with 11 catches.
He set a career high in yards with 191.
He tied Cowboys legend Michael Irvin with the most 10-catch/150-plus yard games in team history with his third.
He went over 100 yards in a regular season game for the 14th time in his career, which is second-most among players in their first four seasons with the Cowboys, behind only Bob Hayes (15).
He didn’t drop a pass that got near his hands.
He made the final catch of the game but was stopped just 2 yards shy of the winning touchdown.
Lamb had a hell of an afternoon.
It was just the fourth time in 15 games, the Cowboys lost when Lamb had over 100 yards receiving. It is the first time it has happened this season, after Lamb had 143 yards in the win over the Jets, 117 yards in the win over the Chargers and another 158 yards in last week’s win over the Rams.
Lamb now has 824 yards on 57 catches this season, despite being the focus of defensive coordinators every week.
He regularly draws safety or nickel help over to the cornerback responsible for covering him.
The Cowboys have done a good job of combating that by moving him around – right side, left side, inside slot, outside. They use him as an affective decoy, as well as blocker in certain formations. He even has four carries for 33 yards.
At this point, the only thing the Cowboys haven’t asked Lamb to do on offense is throw the ball.
Hard to believe, but Lamb could be even more productive if the Cowboys could find him a sidekick. At this point, he’s the only wide receiver the Cowboys can count on from week to week.
Michael Gallup, Brandin Cooks, Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin are the only other wide receivers on the roster with catches this season. The four together have 56 catches, one less than Lamb, for 590 yards and five touchdowns.
There have been just 15 passes thrown Lamb’s way that have been incomplete, most of which were not catchable. The other four have 35 missed targets in eight games.
If not for tight end Jake Ferguson, who has 11 catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns over the last two weeks, the Cowboys passing game would be Lamb and Lamb alone.
It’s obvious, we can all see it.
He needs the help.
Dak Prescott and the offense needs the help.
If one of Gallup, Cooks, Tolbert or Turpin, doesn’t step up consistently over the final 10 weeks, the end of the season will probably look and feel very similar to the last two – frustratingly disappointing.