If you only perused the box score of the Dallas Cowboys‘ win over the Colts on Sunday in Week 9, by a 27-23 margin, you’d assume that star receiver CeeDee Lamb was coming off one of the all-time great games in what has already been an all-time great career. Lamb had 195 yards receiving, which is the second-most he has ever had, and 10 catches, a feat he has accomplished just 14 times in a single game. The Colts have a good pair of defensive backs–Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward–but Lamb was consistently able to put together catches and yardage against them.
But the problem with looking at the box score is that it’s not going to paint the whole picture. And as impressive as Lamb’s numbers were, he did not play all that well.
CeeDee Lamb Fumble Cost the Cowboys
If you’d dispute that, you should ask Lamb himself. Speaking to Cowboys reporters after the game, Lamb conceded that his wild fourth-quarter fumble on a play in which he made a catch on the ground from Dak Prescott, ran to the Colts’ 13-yard line after no one touched him when he was down, then fumbled as he was falling to the ground was very frustrating. But so were his three offensive pass interference calls.
Said Lamb: “But I think I had, like, three penalties alone in the second half, and a fumble. Personally, I gotta take a real good look. The numbers look crazy, but it could have been more. And I’m always thinking about what could have been. So, as for me, as a leader on this offense,I feel like I’ve got to be better in some realms, and just end the game.”
He said he was surprised by how tight the refereeing was on him.
As he said, via the Cowboys website: “Clearly, the refs had it out for me this week. … The refs weren’t messing with me this week.”
CeeDee Lamb: ‘I Thought I Was Down’
Lamb tried to explain the fumble, which went down as a 48-yard completion for he and Prescott, but after the game, Lamb told Prescott he owed him “about 60 yards and a touchdown” because of his mistakes.
Said Lamb: “Before the review, obviously, I thought I was down because I felt, I don’t know who it was, I think it was a linebacker. He hit me in my back as I was trying to make a move, and I went down, right? But I used my arm with the ball, which, obviously, I feel like I shouldn’t have, but when you’re in a moment of moving around, I guess when you’re in a situation, you’re not really thinking.
“But I know not to use the ball to keep my balance next time, but I also thought I was down by contact.”
Cowboys Praise Ryan Flournoy
Prescott, for one, was not harping too much on the downsides of Lamb’s day for the Cowboys. He had praise for both Lamb and for Ryan Flournoy, who stepped into the No. 2 receiver’s role with George Pickens out. Flournoy had two catches, including a 46-yarder that set up the game-winning touchdown.
Said the QB: “CeeDee, after the game, he said, ‘I owe you about 60 yards and a touchdown.’ That’s the standard he sets for himself, that we have, and the expectation. Flo is a guy that I can’t say enough about and I try to every time tell you guys what he means to me and what he means to this offense.
“So when I got an opportunity like that, with a minute left, I got Flo man-to-man … I am going to attack with the utmost trust and Flo showed you why I have that.”
It worked.
Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb Calls Out Referees After 195-Yard Game