Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer revealed why he sat two of his biggest stars to open the game in Las Vegas.
Dallas Cowboys receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens were benched for the opening offensive series against the Las Vegas Raiders in what was a clear message from head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
Shape up.
With the pair benched for "missing some things'' - being late to a meeting before Monday's 33-16 win in Sin City - seems to be the thing - Schottenheimer felt it was necessary to discipline the pair on national television.
Culture has been a big emphasis for Schottenheimer since he took over from Mike McCarthy, and this is perhaps the biggest and most glaring example of the lengths the first-time head coach will go to in order to get his point across.
Sitting your two best offensive weapons isn't something to take lightly, especially considering the game and the lead-up to it as well.
“The bottom line was I talked to our guys all about accountability, not just those two,” Schottenheimer said. “We had great conversations and real conversations and at the end of the day, I love those guys and the energy that they brought is real, but they're not the only ones that we're going to hold accountable.
"I'm going to hold myself accountable when I make mistakes and hold people accountable when they do great things. That's just kind of the culture that we've built here."
The message definitely got through to the pair, though.
Pickens posted 144 yards and a touchdown from nine receptions as he tormented the Raiders defense, averaging a crisp 16.0 yards per catch as he was the very definition of a chain mover.
CeeDee was less explosive, but still hauled in five catches for 66 yards and a wide-open touchdown and had Dak Prescott's pass in the fourth quarter been on target, Lamb would have had a walk-in touchdown as well.
"Those guys have shown how much they love this team, how much they love playing the game, how much fun they have doing it and doing it at a very, very high level," Schottenheimer said. "That speaks volumes about them.”
When Dallas two star weapons are in that sort of groove, we can see how devastating the Cowboys' passing attack can be with Prescott orchestrating it at an elite level.
But the biggest thing to come out of the game is that this first-time head coach doesn't care who slips below the standards, they'll be held accountable just like everyone else.
Will it change Dallas' overall culture? Who knows, maybe.
But it's a step in the right direction.