Lamb silences doubters with dominant Cowboys performance with a defiant challenge to the league's defensive backs.
ARLINGTON - It was with brutal honestly that Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb said the cure to his dropsies was simply that he needed to "catch the (expletive) ball.''
But against the Kansas City Chiefs, in what would become a critical 31-28 win on Thanksgiving, there was one more component to fixing what was ailing the All-Pro.
The Cowboys needed to make sure they threw him the bleeping ball.
They did just that. And CeeDee then did his thing.
Oh, and now he has a brutally honest warning for his detractors.
"No one can really guard me,'' he said. ""This game ain't the only game I'm about to do this in. I can promise you that. So do what you want with that info.
"Keep talking. I see y'all. That's my message. I see it."
Yup. CeeDee Lamb is back to normal.
A week after making headlines for his costly drops in a win over the Eagles, Lamb bounced back here in this must-win showdown at AT&T Stadium on Thanksgiving against the regal Chiefs with seven receptions on nine targets for 112 yards and a touchdown, which included a 51-yard bomb.
Mixed in were an assortment of defensive pass interference penalties on Chiefs corner Trent McDuffie as Lamb tormented a player who is also considered Pro Bowl-level.
Lamb had confidence in his ability to bounce back, so did Dak Prescott and Brian Schottenheimer, as No. 88 reminded anyone who doubted him that he can still be the alpha is of this top-rated Dallas offense.
Lamb got off to a hot start (of course) with him and Dak connecting on three third downs in the first quarter, one of which was his 15-yard touchdown to loudly announce he was ready for the fight.
“I told you guys there was going to be a lot of balls going to 88’s way,” Schotty said. “I'm just so happy for him, I told him last week, I said, "Hey, you look back to your old self, man. I mean, just the way he's moving and everything." It was awesome to see him go make plays against an incredible corner.
"I think the world of McDuffie, a great corner, they were trying to match him on CeeDee, and I thought CeeDee just played so good. So proud, so happy for him.”
With Lamb in that sort of mood, George Pickens had a quiet start to the game with Dallas riding the hot hand, but the beauty of having two star receivers is that when Lamb cooled off slightly after his 51-yard reception in the fourth quarter, Pickens came alive.
Six receptions for 88 yards feels like a "down" day for Pickens based on his previous few weeks, but his yards after the catch and leaping over a Chiefs defender, coupled with multiple third-down conversions highlighted by his 39-yard reception in the fourth quarter, before a 13-yard reception on third-and-two that sealed the game for the Cowboys, meant George also had his moments.
CeeDee had a bounce-back game at a critical time for a 6-5-1 Dallas team clinging to playoff hopes, and when it came to clutch both he and Pickens answered the call. ... and caught the bleeping ball.
"It's a team achievement and, overall, for myself, it's just good to be back on the right track," said Lamb. "It's how it goes. No one can really guard me. It was just me dropping the ball, and I don't do that often, so it's just a series of events. It was a great experience for me.
"I learned a lot, and we move forward."