It’s safe to say things have not gone smoothly in Dallas to this point in the season. The coaching staff, front office, and ownership are all catching heat, but it’s the Cowboys stars that might be slumping the most.
One of the key storylines over the last year for Dallas has been extending their top players, and despite constantly waiting too long, they have gotten these deals done.
In the last two months, the Cowboys have spent over $375M to make sure Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb stay inside the building for years to come. These two contracts needed to happen, but both guys have struggled out of the gate.
Are these two guys the sole reason the team is 3-3? Of course not, but that doesn’t mean we can overlook their early-season struggles.
Let’s go ahead and take a more in-depth look at these Cowboys stars and their 2024 performance to this point.
Dak Prescott: Lack of Help, or Skill Issue?
The biggest contract of them all has, unsurprisingly, been the most talked about and most blamed for this season. Prescott is the face of the franchise, and with the current state of the roster, if he’s not at his best, they will likely not win.
Unfortunately for Dallas, Prescott has been far from his best to this point in the year.
In 2023, he was the runner-up for the MVP award after putting up 36 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. Right now, he is only three interceptions behind his final total from last year.
Not all of those have been solely on Prescott, but he hasn’t been able to resist the late-game blowout forced turnover, or the red-zone interception to kill a key drive.
Interceptions are not his only lacking stat this year, as his percentage of touchdown passes thrown has plummeted from 6.1% in 2023 to 3.6% in 2024.
The Cowboys fanbase has been split about who to blame for his performance; some say it’s all Prescott’s fault, some say this is a result of the front office failing to surround him with adequate weapons.
Both sides share some truth. Dak Prescott has not delivered the performances that he can to this point, but he also has no running game and a receiving corps that is failing to create any explosiveness or separation.
Prescott needs to pick it up, and the front office may want to go ahead and improve the roster if the 2024 Cowboys want to get off the ground.
CeeDee Lamb: Is Something Deeper Brewing?
Since that brutal playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers, many Cowboys fans have been collectively asking the same question: What the hell is going on with CeeDee Lamb?
I can remember the first quarter of that game like it was yesterday; there was immediately something completely off about Lamb. The Packers defense knew it, the fans watching at home knew it, and Prescott definitely knew it.
The two had seemingly been zapped of their chemistry and connection, as they failed to hit on simple passes, and Lamb’s frustration was evident with his body language.
Unfortunately, it feels like we’ve yet to get back to the pre-Packers game CeeDee.
He is still showing up frustrated on the sidelines, giving up on routes, and having communication mishaps with Prescott. This is not to say he’s been bad, or even average, but for a guy at his $136M price-tag, he has not done enough.
Lamb’s receiving success rate and catch percentage are at a career-low at 47.3% and 58.2%; his 2023 numbers there were 63.5% and 74.6%. That is a staggering 13% and 16% drop-off.
We know Lamb’s talent is at the top of the game, so what is causing the statistical lows and the open frustration?
It could be that he was absent from training camp and preseason with his contract holdout, and it is taking time for him to get back into game shape without that critical warm-up to the season.
On the other hand, it’s possible there is something deeper going on, as many have speculated since the Packers game.
We have no idea what that “something” could be, but what we do know is this season could be toast if the Cowboys stars, and especially Lamb, don’t get back to their elite performances quickly.