To start things off, it looked like it would be one of THOSE games for Cowboys star receiver CeeDee Lamb. In the first two drives that Dallas put forth, Lamb was targeted with five passes and made four catches. He racked up 93 yards receiving, including a 49-yard catch-and-run from Dak Prescott for the Cowboys’ first touchdown, the one that staked Dallas to a 7-3 lead in the game.
But then … nothing. For two quarters, not only did Lamb not record any catches, but Prescott and the Cowboys did not target Lamb at all. So what happened? Did the Dolphins throw a defensive wrinkle out there to confound Lamb and the Cowboys? Did Miami star defensive back Jalen Ramsey, who arrived at the game trolling the Cowboys by wearing a mighty fine cowboy hat, lock in on Lamb?
Nope. And the lack of Lamb was a key factor in Dallas’ disappointing 22-20 loss in Week 16 on Sunday.
“They wasn’t doing anything,” Lamb said at his locker after the game. “I don’t know. I just felt like, if I am going to be involved, just keep me involved. And in the game, do what they gotta do. But yeah, I agree. It was weird, that second and third quarter. Very weird.”
CeeDee Lamb 👀 pic.twitter.com/gXKtVVnOAt
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) December 24, 2023
CeeDee Lamb Passed 5,000 Yards on Sunday
Making matters a bit worse was the fact that Lamb reached a milestone in the game, topping 5,00 career yards. As Pro Football Focus put out on its Twitter/X feed:
“WRs with 5,000+ scrimmage yards in their first four seasons: Jerry Rice, Torry Holt, Randy Moss, Michael Thomas, Justin Jefferson, CEEDEE LAMB.”
WRs with 5,000+ scrimmage yards in their first four seasons:
Jerry Rice
Torry Holt
Randy Moss
Michael Thomas
Justin Jefferson
CEEDEE LAMB pic.twitter.com/mBil339Evz— PFF (@PFF) December 24, 2023
The Cowboys did, eventually, go back to Lamb in the fourth quarter, but with little luck. He had five targets but only two catches, for 25 yards. He also had a critical false start penalty on a play that would have given the Cowboys a first down in the red zone in the third quarter. Lamb, on the play, moved backward to make sure he was not offsides, but did so while another Cowboy was in motion.
Can’t have two guys in motion at the same time. So the first down was erased and the Cowboys settled for a field goal that made the score 16-10, Dolphins.
“Always want to come up with a win,” Lamb said. “Obviously, tough games, tough situations. Learn a lot in these type of games and I know that we’re gonna bounce back. This narrative about us not winning away is strange but true. But we know what we gotta do. We gotta be great. Continue to be who we are and change that narrative coming down the stretch.”
Cowboys Drop to 3-5 Away From Home
The “narrative,” of course, is the notion that the Cowboys can’t beat good teams on the road. It’s not so much a narrative as a fact, though. Dallas is 3-5 on the road and 7-0 at home.
“We gotta live with it,” Lamb said. “The things we put out in this season, we gotta own it. I’m not opposed to it because once again, the things that we’ve done away haven’t been nearly what we’ve accomplished at home. But it really don’t matter where we play. We gotta be able to overcome adversity, no matter if it is a hostile environment or not. Cowboys travel well. So pretty much every away game is a home game. Shout out to the fans for that. But what we gotta do, we gotta do it on the field.”
One way to do that would be for the Dallas offense to not forget it has CeeDee Lamb on its side. If there was one thing that Lamb took as a positive, it is that the team managed to take the lead, 20-19, with a touchdown late in the game before a the Dolphins won it with a field goal.
“It proves who we are,” Lamb said. “We are definitely a team that is ready for those type of moments, the big moments, the big games. I don’t doubt that one bit. We have great playmakers in all levels of the game, you know? I trust them boys with my life. For us to come up short is very unfortunate. We gotta go back to the drawing board but we gotta come up with these type of games. That’s just what it is.”
