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.
https://twitter.com/dallascowboys/status/1963775342000099549If 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.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1963817862625452475The 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.
