There was, in the back of the minds of just about every frequent observer of the Dallas Cowboys, a bit of dread as the final minutes of Sunday’s 34-30 win over the Texans played out. That’s because the game in Houston felt an awful lot like the game a week earlier in Rio, a heartbreaking loss that set off a round of apologies and mea culpae from coach Brian Schottenheimer, who badly mismanaged the end of that game. But CeeDee Lamb, riding his after a 17-catch, 189-yard showing on Sunday wanted to make sure that his coach knew he wasn’t panicking.
Lamb not only had the big stat line, but made four his catches on the final, game-winning drive by the Cowboys, capped off by his 11-yard touchdown catch from Dak Prescott. The dread among the Cowboys faithful would have turned to panic with a loss, but instead, Dallas got the W and can return home at 2-2.
CeeDee Lamb: One of Cowboys Coach’s ‘Strongest Soldiers’
Lamb let it be known that he and his Cowboys teammates were not as concerned about Schottenheimer’s apologies for Week 3 as the coach seemed to be.
Asked about him in the wake of the win, Lamb bore down for his coach, “I just want Schotty to know I got his back. Honestly, I am with him. I am one of his strongest soldiers. It’s just going to battle with each other. Once you have that confidence and you know who you’re going to battle with, just shoot your gun. And I feel like he shot it today. No pun intended.”
Cowboys Still Obviously Flawed
The Cowboys, to be clear, remain a dangerously flawed team, and will have a hard time being taken seriously as a contender if their defense continues to be sieve-like and unable to show consistent improvement.
But the offense is Super Bowl-caliber, and Lamb is a major part of that. Even as he was ripping off a huge day–the second-most catches in a single game by a Cowboys receiver–Lamb said he was too deeply in the zone of trying to win the game to notice his historical output.
He said: “Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about any of that throughout the game. The end goal for me was to score and walk off the field victorious. Just going throughout the game, man, coming up for the team—there was a lot of third-down conversions I felt like I was a part of, that’s good. Moving the sticks. That’s the end goal.”
CeeDee Lamb’s Hometown Debut
Heading into the Week 4 showdown in Houston, Lamb had downplayed the fact that the game was the first he has played as a member of the Cowboys in Houston, his hometown. But on Sunday, once the win was in the books, Lamb copped to the truth–it was a big one for him.
He said: “I grew up here. My grandma came out, that was really good to see. She doesn’t really come out to many of my games and really do all the hoo-rah and screaming. It was good to see my family here. It has been a long road to end up in this situation and I am grateful for it. To see a lot of things I saw growing up, it was inspiring.”
Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb Sends Emotional Message to Brian Schottenheimer After Win