ARLINGTON, Texas — It’s not a surprise to any team that faces the Dallas Cowboys. When they have the ball, they’re trying to get it to CeeDee Lamb. And very few opponents have been able to slow him down this season.
Lamb had a career-game Saturday night at AT&T Stadium, catching 13 of his 17 targets for 227 yards and a touchdown. As Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after the game, Lamb was the difference as Dallas held on to defeat the Detroit Lions 20-19.
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In the process, Lamb set two franchise records. He passed Michael Irvin, who was in attendance, for receptions (122) and receiving yards (1,651) in a single season. Irvin caught 111 passes for 1,603 yards in 1995.
“It’s a surreal moment,” Lamb said of passing Irvin.
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Lamb’s receiving total was the fourth most in a game in franchise history, and the most by any Cowboys player since Miles Austin had 250 in 2009 against Kansas City. Lamb has also scored a touchdown in eight consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL.
“Just having that confidence about myself, being able to play all of the positions,” Lamb said when asked if anyone can stop him. “It would be hard (to stop me). If you do, congrats. If not, we’re going to keep this ball rolling.”
Lamb got the Cowboys on the scoreboard late in the first quarter when Dak Prescott avoided a sack, scrambled and launched for what ended up being a 92-yard touchdown.
“Shout out to Dak, using his legs,” Lamb said. “I just did what I could, staying available for him. He gave me an opportunity and I took it.”
Jones called it “one of the best plays by a (Cowboys) quarterback that I’ve seen.”
.@dak said GO LONG @_CeeDeeThree 🚀 pic.twitter.com/xuP9pBgndi
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 31, 2023
Lamb finished the first quarter with two receptions for 123 yards. He totaled four receptions for 28 yards in the second quarter, three more for 27 yards in the third and four for 49 yards in the fourth. His second and third quarter production was particularly noteworthy because he was not targeted in the second or third quarter in last week’s 22-20 loss at Miami.
“He’s so dynamic with the football,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “I think so much about receiver play and how these guys with the route running, the connection with Dak compared to in the past, those two guys have taken it to another level. I don’t know how many yards he had after the catch, but I know it was a bunch. Just a complete, complete receiver.”
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About the only thing that didn’t go well for Lamb was on the reception to break Irvin’s record in the second quarter, he fumbled at the 1-yard line. The ball rolled into the end zone and out of bounds, turning it over to Detroit. While some believe the touchback rule needs to be changed, Lamb isn’t one of them.
“They need to leave it as that,” Lamb said. “At that point, you need to hold onto the ball. Obviously for myself, I need to do the same thing.”
Lamb’s name was a popular topic in the postgame locker room. Cowboys CB Jourdan Lewis said he thinks Lamb should be mentioned in the MVP conversation.
“He’s just amazing,” Lewis added. “He’s cold-blooded.”
Cowboys No. 2 WR Brandin Cooks scored Dallas’ other touchdown, an 8-yard grab in the right corner of the end zone to put the Cowboys up 17-13 with 7:20 remaining.
Cooks is in his 10th season. Lamb is in his fourth.
What impresses the veteran most about the 24-year-old?
“I mean, gosh, what don’t?” Cooks responded. “To be so young, playing at a high level like this. To break a franchise record like this when we talk about some greats that played here. The guy’s electric. And anytime he has the ball in his hands he makes the offense better. I love to see the growth. My challenge to him is to keep it going the rest of the season and in that postseason.”
“Remarkable” was the first word Prescott used when talking about Lamb after the game.
“He can do it all and he’s continuing to get better,” Prescott added. “He wants to get better, hungry to get better, hungry for the ball. Has one of the hungriest mindsets that I’ve been around in this game of football and it’s fun. With a similar mindset, when the ball is in your hands, I can definitely understand and relate. Makes it easy, makes my job easy. He’s special. He’s really just getting going and I can tell you as long as I’m here, he’ll probably stack these records each and every year, to be honest with you. This is only the beginning.”
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The win Saturday gives the Cowboys a perfect 8-0 record at AT&T Stadium this season. It’s the fourth time in franchise history that they have finished undefeated at home during the regular season. The other three were in 1969, 1980 and 1981. They also finished with a franchise-record 299 points at home in 2023. That’s the fifth-highest in NFL history. The 2011 New Orleans Saints scored 329. McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers’ teams in 2011 (321) and 2014 (318) round out the top three.
“We gotta keep going,” Lamb said. “We know the direction we’re headed and the team we want to be. There are small things we can fix, but we’re headed in the right direction.”
(Photo of CeeDee Lamb: Matthew Pearce / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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