When Dak Prescott is firing peaches all over the field, the Dallas Cowboys generally have a good chance to win regardless of who's on the opposite sideline. It helps having a superstar receiver in CeeDee Lamb getting open at will on seemingly every snap.
While Prescott largely held up his end of the bargain against the Philadelphia Eagles, Lamb didn't come close to holding up his in the 24-20 loss. Lamb had three drops on the night, but none worse than a deep shot over the middle of the field in the fourth quarter that Prescott put right in his breadbasket.
Each of Lamb's drops resulted in a punt by the Cowboys offense. On a night where Lamb was viewed as a player who would keep Dallas within striking distance against a juggernaut, he's arguably the biggest reason they lost and he took full ownership speaking to reporters after the defeat.
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb gets brutally honest after terrible game vs. Eagles
"That’s terrible. I can’t point the finger at anybody else. I take full accountability and everything else that comes with it," Lamb said, via The Athletic's Jon Machota. "As a player, I train for moments like that and the ball to come my way. I need to catch the damn ball."
That pretty much says it all, does it not?
To dump salt in the wound, Prescott targeted Lamb again on what turned out to be the Cowboys' final offensive snap of the night. Prescott went deep up the left sideline to Lamb, who had to lay out and couldn't quite come down with it. It wasn't a drop given the level of difficulty, but No. 88 would tell you he expects to catch it.
Lamb knows he has to catch the ball and he knows Prescott will continue to look his way in high-leverage moments. The only thing he can do is shake it off and perform better in Week 2 and beyond, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a big reason the Cowboys came up short.
This was comfortably Lamb's worst game as a pro. While he deserves some slack from Cowboys fans, his salary is $34 million now. You expect him to come through in the clutch. The team needs a lot more when it has a chance to steal a game from the defending champs.
Lamb will likely bounce back in a big way in Week 2. That's the kind of player he is. But a lot of Thursday's loss falls on him. As shocking as it is, there is no getting around it.
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