Watching CeeDee Lamb shred the Detroit Lions defense during his monster game last Saturday night left me wondering: How in the world did he repeatedly get so wide open?
Sure, Lamb’s 13-catch, 227-yard statement was punctuated by a 92-yard catch-and-run that was enabled by a defender who slipped and fell to the turf. It was the longest offensive play in the NFL this season and second-longest reception in Dallas Cowboys history, the distance exceeded only by a 95-yard job from the great Bob Hayes in 1963.
Yet so often, Lamb had all types of separation. And we’ve seen this for the better part of the season.
‘I just work at it,’ Lamb said, rather nonchalantly, as he sat at his locker after the game.
I put the question to Dak Prescott. He grinned.
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‘He ain’t open enough for me!’ the Cowboys quarterback declared.
Prescott also alluded to the extensive hours they have put in to develop QB-WR chemistry. Or as Jerry Jones, team owner and famous hype man put it, ‘The Aikman-Irvin thing, really shades of that. They’re really hooking up.’
It was fitting that on a night when so many Cowboys legends – including Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin – were at JerryWorld to christen Jimmy Johnson’s induction into the team’s Ring of Honor, Lamb made his own history. He broke the single-season Cowboys records Irvin set in 1995 for catches (111) and receiving yards (1,603) and will head into the regular-season finale at Washington with an NFL-high 122 receptions.
Still, in a league where defensive strategists are known for devising schemes that neutralize top threats, there have been no easy answers lately for containing Lamb. Prescott hinted at the man-to-man coverage as a factor.
But why risk that?
‘It’s an egotistical league,’ Prescott replied.
In any event, it’s a league where Lamb, named this week to his third consecutive Pro Bowl, has established himself as elite. Since the start of the 2022 season, only Tyreek Hill has topped Lamb’s 3,010 receiving yards.
‘I worked my tail off to be that and to say that confidently,’ he told reporters at the Cowboys headquarters this week. ‘It’s good to be elite. But how consistent and how long you can be elite in the next challenge.’
Playoff competition should increase the level of difficulty for Lamb. And then there’s a Cowboys running game that has sputtered. Typically, less potent rushing attacks allow for the allocation of defensive manpower to disrupt the passing game.
To this point, though, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has been forcing the flow with his high-powered offense. And Lamb’s versatility is a huge key.
‘He goes anywhere,’ said Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis, whose expert opinion draws on the task of trying to cover Lamb in practice sessions. ‘He can go outside, inside, the backfield. It’s hard to match up with him…hard to prepare for him because he can be anywhere.’
Lewis calls Lamb a ‘route guru,’ which says something about his knack to bring the X’s and O’s to life.
‘He knows where your coverage is soft,’ Lewis said. ‘He beats you that way.’
And in other ways. The physical Lamb is one of the best in the league for racking up yards after the catch. And he’s been lethal with the inside routes, evidenced by his seven TDs while aligned in the slot, which is tied for the NFL high.
Lamb has blossomed since becoming the Cowboys’ top receiver after Amari Cooper was traded to the Cleveland Browns. And he’s also lived up to wearing No. 88, which has its own significance in the Cowboys universe. The number became special to the Cowboys with Drew Pearson during the 1970s and ’80s. Since, it has been represented well by the likes of Irvin and Dez Bryant.
Funny, there was some initial resistance from Lamb about the uniform number when the Cowboys drafted him out of Oklahoma in 2020 with a first-round pick. Lamb apparently wanted to wear No. 2.
‘If I had known for sure that he’d break that 88’s record, there wouldn’t have been any question about it,’ said Jones, referring to Irvin’s marks. ‘You know, we had to sell him on 88. He had his mind on another number. I finally had to pull rank.’
Irvin congratulated Lamb for breaking his records, then put it all into context.
‘Now it’s time to go and chase a ring,’ Lamb said of Irvin’s theme. ‘Basically, that was the end message. Obviously, I’m with that. That’s always been my end goal and it still is.’
Pro Bowl snubs: Who were best players left off roster?
You can mark it on the NFL’s annual calendar. Just as riveting as the announcement of Pro Bowl rosters each year is the aftermath with grumbling about players who didn’t make the cut. This time around, there again is no shortage of candidates to fill up what would be a rather impressive lineup for an All-Snub Team.
No Josh Allen? Well, actually there’s one on the AFC’s list, and the Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker surely deserves his slot as he ranks third in the league with 16½ sacks. The Buffalo Bills quarterback by the same name, however, was passed over in favor of Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Tua Tagovailoa.
Sometimes, the omissions represent a numbers game. That may best reflect why the Bills standout – despite his heavy load – didn’t get the nod in an AFC loaded with premier quarterbacks. Yet that hardly accounts for the bulk of the head-scratching cases.
Consider one of the biggest snubs: Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. For all of Winfield’s versatility and production, he was bypassed for Budda Baker of the Arizona Cardinals and Julian Love of the Seattle Seahawks.
‘I’ve seen a lot of guys get snubbed, but that was probably the biggest one I’ve ever seen during my time in the league,’ said Mike Evans, the 10th-year receiver who was the lone Buc named to the NFC team.
Winfield’s stat line includes three interceptions, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and five sacks.
And his father, the former NFL defensive back, provided the best response to the snub. On Instagram, Winfield, Sr. posted: ‘We demand a recount!’
Other notables left hanging included Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who is tied for second in the league with 112 receptions and matches Hill and Lamb with an NFL-high eight 100-yard games.
‘The receivers that got picked, they’re great players,’ St. Brown said, ‘but I was hot.’
Baltimore Ravens safety Geno Stone can surely relate. Stone leads the AFC with seven interceptions but saw Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick land a Pro Bowl nod – despite missing six games. Fitzpatrick is undoubtedly one of the league’s best safeties, but the injuries derailed his season.
It works both ways. Baltimore kicker Justin Tucker, one of the best ever, nailed the honor again. But Steelers kicker Chris Boswell is more deserving for this season. Boswell has converted 93.3% of his field goals (28 of 30) on the season and is 6-for-7 from 50-plus yards. Tucker, meanwhile, is 1-for-5 from 50 yards or more.
Ultimately, some of the ‘snubs’ will be added to the Pro Bowl teams and allowed to participate in the events that make up the newfangled ‘Pro Bowl Games.’ Along the way, though, the debates rage on.
Quick slants
With the playoffs looming, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay wasn’t feel very secure about his kicking situation. So, he cut Lucas Havrisik and re-signed Brett Maher, who was cut after Week 7 in favor of Havrisik, In nine games, Havrisik missed a PAT or field goal try in six of the contests, and last weekend against the New York Giants he missed two PAT kicks. As McVay explained this week, experience was the driving motivation for the move. Just don’t think it’s automatic. Maher’s experience includes missing an NFL-record four PATs during an NFC wild-card round matchup last season at Tampa Bay, then following that up with a PAT miss at San Francisco. We’ll see whether the ‘experience’ will be a benefit during the postseason…The stunning revival of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense since Mason Rudolph replaced Mitch Trubisky could fuel an interesting decision for Mike Tomlin if they make the playoffs. Would Tomlin put Kenny Pickett, out for more than a month after ankle surgery, back in the lineup? Perhaps not. Rudolph has brought the deep ball back to Pittsburgh and avoided Trubisky-like turnovers as the Steelers have averaged 32 points per game during his two starts. During the coming offseason, there will be no dilemma about this: The Steelers will try to re-sign Rudolph while dumping Trubisky, who could collect $11.5 million on the final two years of his contract. The controversy could come if Tomlin doesn’t open up a competition between Rudolph and Pickett…A stunning stat to ponder as the Dolphins try to fend of the Bills on Sunday night and claim the AFC East title. Hill, aka The Cheetah, has averaged an incredible 38 yards on his 12 TDs this season. Now comes a Bills defense that has been burned repeatedly by big plays.
