CeeDee Lamb sets Dallas Cowboys records for receptions, yards in a season
CeeDee Lamb‘s performance Saturday night can best be described as brilliant. In the Cowboys dramatic win over the Lions, Lamb posted a career high to break two major Dallas franchise records.
And the Cowboys needed all of Lamb’s yards and catches, plus some good defense and a timely penalty against the Lions to survive for a 20-19 win. Dallas clinched victory when Lamb (he’s Superman) recovered the onside kick on the game’s next-to-last play.
So move over Michael Irvin, Lamb now owns the most prolific season in team history for both catches and reception yardage. And he accomplished this on the night that he also posted the longest touchdown reception in the NFL this season and the second-longest in team history. Again, what a night.
Lamb caught a (very lucky) 13 catches for 227 yards, with a touchdown. He kicked off his performance with a 92-yard touchdown catch. On the play, the Lions seemingly had Dak Prescott corralled in the end zone for a safety. But Prescott ducked under the rush and fled the end zone. He barely got his feet set at about the 8 when he heaved the ball towards Lamb, who caught the ball at midfield. The Detroit defender fell down, allowing the Cowboys wideout a wide open path for a touchdown.
Lamb told ESPN that the touchdown was a practiced, but ab-libbed kind of play. It’s what happens when the Cowboys rehearse what happens when a play breaks down.
“I saw Dak scramble, obviously in my direction,” Lamb said. “I did what I had to do and Dak gave me a chance.”
The 227 yards gave Lamb 1,613 for the season. That allowed him to edge Irvin’s single-season record of 1,603. The record stood for 28 years before Lamb, a former Cowboys first-rounder from Oklahoma, topped it.
And that wasn’t the only Irvin record to fall. Lamb now has 122 receptions for the year. Irvin caught 111 in 1995. Lamb has one more game to pad the record. Lamb’s only mistake of the game was when he broke Irvin’s record for receptions. He fumbled that into the end zone.
Count Prescott as very impressed with Lamb. “He’s a young guy and really just getting started,” the Cowboys quarterback told ESPN. “I’m blessed to be able to play with him.”
After the game, Lamb wanted to deflect attention by complimenting others. “I wouldn’t be able to do this without my teammates and my coaches,” he said.
“I’m blessed and I appreciate everything,” he added. He said he especially liked the “aggressive” play calls.
Irvin was at the game Saturday night, so he saw his records fall. The former Cowboys star and Hall of Famer was there to help honor his old coach, Jimmy Johnson. The Cowboys inducted Johnson into the Ring of Honor, three decades after he coached his last game in Dallas.
And older Cowboys fans likely will remember that Irvin put together his then record season as Dallas was on a path to winning the Super Bowl. These current Cowboys also would like to make the NFL’s biggest game. The win over the Lions kept Dallas in contention for the NFC East division title, which would guarantee the Cowboys at least one playoff game at home. Detroit already has clinched the North.