The Dallas Cowboys picked up a much-needed win Sunday vs the Minnesota Vikings after a four-game losing streak. One of the main reasons was the performance of Running Back Ezekiel Elliott who had his first 100-yard performance of 2020, but he wasn’t the only bright spot.
Rookie Wide Receiver CeeDee Lamb may not have lit up the stat sheet seeing as he only had 34 yards receiving, but he made one of the best catches of the NFL season that gave the Cowboys a 13-7 lead with about five minutes left in the first half. Elliott had high praise for Lamb when speaking to the media Sunday night.
“He was on one today. Just running hard, trying to run guys over,” Elliott said. “He tried to run a D-lineman over and tried to run a linebacker over, which you don’t see from a smaller guy. He can also go out there and catch the ball. He had the crazy catch in the red zone. It was big. He’s just a helluva player. He’s young, he’s going to have a helluva career.”
The talented rookie showed an unbelievable ability to twist his body in mid-air and kept his concentration while he fell to the ground and haul in his four-yard touchdown on Sunday. When asked about it postgame, Lamb explained the degree of difficulty on that particular play.
“Honestly, in that position it was very hard to see,” Lamb said. “The lights from the stadium, it made it a lot difficult. I ran my route and Andy gave me a great opportunity, a great ball, to have the opportunity to make the catch and give the O-line their props, just giving Andy time. And at the end of the day, you got to win your individual battles.”
Lamb put his name into the Cowboys record books on Sunday. His four receptions gave him 48 on the season which is the most ever by a Cowboys rookie receiver. He was also one of the highest graded receivers in the NFL for Week 11 according to Pro Football Focus in several categories.
What’s impressive about Lamb’s rookie season is that he’s still on pace for 1,000 yards even though he’s been without Dak Prescott since his season-ending ankle injury in Week 5. He’s second to Amari Cooper in receptions, yards, and targets and leads the Cowboys with four receiving touchdowns.
The scary thing for NFL defenses across the league is that Lamb is just a rookie and he’s already this good, which means a lot of sleepless nights for Cowboys opponents for years to come.
