If I told you that CeeDee Lamb would reel in seven passes for 110 yards, and he would lose the Cowboys their Week 1 game, you’d have called me crazy.
Unfortunately, we saw that paradox come to life. Lamb dropped four passes, three of which came in the fourth quarter, as Dallas lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20 to open the 2025 season.
You can nitpick other moments, players, or problems with the passes, but when it comes down to it, Lamb cost the Cowboys a Week 1 victory.
Dallas had Philly in a vulnerable spot, and couldn’t take advantage because of mistakes.
Don’t Sleep On The First: CeeDee’s 2nd Quarter Drop
Lamb’s first drop is the least memorable, but just as costly in the grand scheme of things.
After both teams dominated offensively for a 14-14 start, the Cowboys got the ball back with 6:41 remaining in the first half. One long, sustained, touchdown drive would have given them the lead and blocked Philly from ending the first half, and starting the second, with the ball.
Prescott got them inside the 25, and on 1st and 10 with just under three minutes to go, Lamb dropped an easy slant route that would have put them inside the red zone.
brandon knocks it through!#DALvsPHI | @Lucchese1883 pic.twitter.com/ccHFJrwTf1
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 5, 2025
If he makes that grab and runs, Dallas’s odds of a touchdown skyrocket. Instead, they throw two more incompletions and settle for a field goal. They would not put 7 on the board for the remainder of the game.
In short, that drop likely cost them a touchdown, and they lost the game by 4.
Starting The 4th Bad: Lamb’s Opening Drop Set The Tone
Again, we’re discussing an overlooked drop from Lamb, but boy, was it huge.
The very first place of the fourth quarter was a crucial third-down drop by 88. Dallas, needing 10 yards to extend the drive, went to their star, and he couldn’t reel it in.
Prescott hit Lamb in the hands with a tough over-the-middle throw, and it went through them, off his helmet, and into the air for a near interception. Tough catch considering the traffic? Yes. Does it also need to get caught, considering the situation and the player? Absolutely.
That catch puts the offense in field goal range with a fresh set of downs; the odds that drive doesn’t end with at least three from Brandon Aubrey are slim to none.
We’re halfway through with the drops, and they’ve already left 10 potential extra points on the table.
The Meat & Potatoes: Game Ends At The Hands Of CeeDee Lamb
We are on to the biggest ones, if you can stomach reliving it.
Following a tremendous third-down conversion between Prescott and George Pickens, the Cowboys’ offense had 2:47 seconds to operate and was set up with 1st and 10 from their own 38-yard line.
With four downs to spare, Prescott unleashed one down the middle of the field to the Eagles’ 22-yard line; that equals 45 yards in the air.
While being hit, Prescott’s throw threaded the needle in traffic and hit Lamb directly in the hands. Again, he couldn’t corral it. If he had, they are at a minimum set up at the 20; at best, he could’ve broken it for a game-leading touchdown.
Three plays later, CeeDee Lamb ended the game, as a deep ball down the sidelines hit off his hands and into the dirt for a turnover on downs. It was his fourth and final drop of the night.
Cowboys with a turnover on downs
DALvsPHI on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/1Qjf2y9F1h— NFL (@NFL) September 5, 2025
The degree of difficulty in that one was clearly raised, but so was the moment. After all that had happened leading up to it, and the situation in the game, the $136M wide receiver had to bring it in.
All in all, Lamb’s four drops were all consequential in Dallas’s defeat, and it’s hard to see a world where they lose if he just hangs on to the ball.
Yes, Lamb contributed to the loss with critical drops, but the defense against the run – especially Hurt being so elusive – also failed. Eagle offensive line was very impressive in creating seams for RB Barkley to pick up chunks of yardage in the ground game. But it was Jalen Hurt and his ability to escape pressure I thought was the game changer. Diggs did an impressive job on WR Brown, but Elam failed to keep up with Dotson allowing Hurt to complete that 50 yarder to break the Cowboys back. Cowboys had many opportunities to defeat the Eagles, who are very beatable, but did not capitalize when it counted. I was extremely excited for Jayvon Williams the Cowboy RB who powered his way through that stout Eagle defense.
Ceedee has a pattern of significant drops but he never put so many together at once before. Ceedee also failed to fight for a 50/50 ball on the sideliine that was left to just go to the defender who fortunately did not catch it. Hopefully this night will lead to a re-evvaluation by Ceedee and an increased desire to fight for the ball as a #1 should do.
That 50/50 ball wasn’t Ceedee failing to fight for it, the only reason the defender about intercepted is because Ceedee slipped on his route!! If he didn’t slip, he would have caught the ball!! But Ceedee slipping was the only reason that play ended the way it did!! Try watching the game again, or at least that play and you’ll even hear the broadcast team say that Ceedee slipped coming out of his route!! So you can’t say he failed to fight for it!! He can’t help that he slipped!!
You are getting on CeeDee but Dak though away two easy touchdowns.while hitting the defender in the back that was two easy in receptions.where Dak was fortunate wasn’t made
I think the Miles Sanders fumble cost us the game just as much as the Ceedee drops!! We would’ve taken the lead if it wasn’t for the fumble!! And the eagles never scored again either, so if Sanders don’t fumble and we take it in for a touchdown, that game is ours!! The Ceedee drops would’ve just given us the opportunity to make our lead bigger!! But either way, both of them making those mistakes are why we lost that game!! I just think the fumble was the biggest reason!! But I think Ceedee will get back to his normal self going forward and we’ll start winning games!! And I think we’ll get our deserved win the next time we play the eagles!! The only thing that sucks is we could have swept the eagles this year, and because of the fumble and the drops, we don’t get to do that now!! But like I said, I think we’ll make up for it when we play then next time!! And we mite even get a chance to get them again in the playoffs!! We’ll just have to wait and see!!