CeeDee Lamb is trending toward being back on the field this Sunday as the 2-3-1 Dallas Cowboys host NFC East rival Washington Commanders.
It will be great to have one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL and a perennial Pro Bowler running routes for Brian Schottenheimer, Dak Prescott, and the Cowboys offense, but what will it mean for an offense that has been humming along since Lamb suffered a high ankle sprain versus the Bears in week 3?
The Cowboy offense has been clicking along at a nice pace without Lamb
Since Lamb went down, Prescott and the Cowboys' offense have put up point totals of 40, 37, and 27 while averaging 381 yards of offense, including 272 yards per game through the air. If the defense were even average, the Cowboys could easily be 4-2 right now.
George Pickens has emerged as a legit WR1, and guys like Ryan Flournoy and tight end Jake Ferguson have combined to pick up the slack while Lamb gets healthy. Dak has 10 touchdowns and zero picks in the last three games without his No. 1 target.
To be clear, no one is suggesting that the Cowboy offense is better without Lamb out there, but after close to four games working without him, is it safe to assume that everything will go seamlessly for the offense while working No. 88 back into the fold and pushing all the other pass-catchers back down a rung on the target ladder?
Also, there is a chance that the speedy KaVontae Turpin will be back this Sunday.
The fact is that the Cowboys have been more efficient and more productive with what they have been rolling out without Lamb and Turpin while posting a 1-1-1 record.
After dropping four key balls in the season-opening loss to the Eagles, Lamb rebounded with 112 yards, hauling in 9 of 12 targets in the Cowboys' big overtime win against the Giants, but is still looking for his first touchdown of 2025.
There will be an adjustment working Lamb and possibly Turpin back into the fold this week. The good news is that they face a porous Washington defense with a struggling secondary. The re-entry process for CeeDee shouldn't take too long, and with the Cowboys' defense also struggling, the team will likely be involved in another shootout with Jayden Daniels under center for the Commanders.