Three weeks ago during a blowout loss to San Francisco, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb turned diva on the Dallas Cowboys’ sideline.
He stood by himself. He spoke to no one. He fumed.
Lamb wanted the ball, and Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Dak Prescott weren’t getting it to him for whatever reason.
After all, Jalen Hurts didn’t have any issue getting A.J. Brown the ball in Philadelphia. Matt Stafford didn’t have issues throwing passes to rookie Puka Nacua in Los Angeles. And we’re not even going to talk about the connection between Minnesota’s Kurt Cousins and Justin Jefferson, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase and Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill.
So Lamb met with McCarthy. Then he met with Prescott. And they all decided Lamb needed to be the focal point of the passing offense, which meant receivers Brandin Cooks and Michael Gallup would have to get in where they fit in.
Lamb caught a career-high 12 passes for a career-high 158 yards and two touchdowns in the Cowboys’ 43-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. In the previous game, Lamb caught seven passes for 117 yards in a 20-17 win over the Chargers.
“That’s what we’re looking for week in and week out. This was more of a stepping stone to what’s to come. Coming off the bye, we knew we had an advantage and we came out striking,” Lamb told reporters. “We’re explosive and physical. That’s our full ability and capability. I know what we can do week in and week out. We can definitely take the top off a defense.
“It gave us the ability to run every play with no restrictions, and that’s when we’re at our best.”
Dallas Cowboys got on same page with CeeDee Lamb
In the last two games, Lamb has caught 19 of 21 passes directed to him. One of Lamb’s issues with McCarthy is that he didn’t get him the ball early.
Well, Lamb had two catches for 22 yards and a four-yard reverse on the first series. He ended the first half with nine catches for 122 yards and touchdowns of 10 and 22 yards as the Cowboys took a 33-9 halftime lead.
Suddenly, the drama from the San Francisco game seemed like a lifetime ago. In the days after the 49ers’ debacle, Lamb stood on business.
“I have to make it clear, I’m not stingy. I’m here to help. I don’t necessarily think you take anyone in the first round and not have them help the team. That’s point blank period,” he said at the time. “Just let me do what I can do to provide for this team. I know all my brothers in the locker room know I got their back. And I say that confidently.”
Lamb also said he needed to handle himself better on the sidelines, even though he asked critics to stop commenting on his body language.
“I’ve had to reflect, self-reflect, and I didn’t go the best route to get my end result,” Lamb said, “At the end of the day, I have a job to do, and I want to contribute to this team. I do everything in my power week in and week out to do that. Going forward, there is a better way to go about it, make a lighter situation.”
Lamb said Prescott told him they could solve any issue as long as they work together.
“I mean, a frustrated player/person that feels like we all could’ve done better and feels like he can change the game, I understand it. I really do. So it’s in the sense of just communicating with him.,” Prescott said. “CeeDee is a guy that I’ll never lose confidence in and trust who he is and understand why he’s frustrated. But at the end of the day, he’s a leader.
“It’s about him leading other guys and picking other guys up and him just trying to make sure we’re all pushing our best. That’s where the frustration, we have to remove that. And he will. He’s a young player that’s growing by the day and he’ll only get better. He’ll be better because of that.”
Now, it’s about finding consistency for Lamb, Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense.
The Cowboys play Philadelphia in a blockbuster matchup on Sunday with a chance to move into a tie for first place in the NFC East.
“We got to be complete,” Lamb said recently. “We can’t go out there one week and look like a super team and then the following week (expletive) the bed.”
Jean-Jacques Taylor is the NFL Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter. He’s the author of Coach Prime: Deion Sanders and the Making of Men.