George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb address why they didn't play on Cowboys first drive

When the Dallas Cowboys offense took the field for the first time Monday evening against the Las Vegas Raiders, two of their best players were notably missing. Wide receivers George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb did not play on the drive as the Cowboys went three-and-out.

Although both players entered on the very next drive, their initial absense was still puzzling enough that it prompted questions from reporters postgame. However, neither Lamb nor Pickens had too much to say.

“I feel like certain personnel are built for the running game,” Pickens said. “We kind of knew that we could exploit them running-wise so a lot of heavy personnel.”

Lamb was even more short, declining to say anything at all. It doesn’t seem like we’ll be getting much of an answer out of either of those two.

“Not going in-depth on that,” Lamb said. “Honestly, I’m not. I’m sorry I’m not.”

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer also addressed the absence of Lamb and Pickens on the opening drive, saying there were “a couple things missed” that led to them not appearing on the field at first. Schottenheimer did not go into any further detail, but ESPN’s Lisa Salter confirmed it was not injury related.

Whatever it may be, the Cowboys cruised past the Raiders with a 33-16 victory. Pickens and Lamb still provided a major impact to the game as the pair combined for 210 yards and two touchdowns during the contest.

Pickens was the star of the show, catching nine of his 11 targets for 144 yards and a touchdown. Lamb had five catches for 66 yards. Both Dallas wide receivers score one touchdown each.

Lamb and Pickens eventually made their way onto the field for the second series of the game, and would be major players in the winning effort during the rest of the matchup.

Pickens, acquired this past offseason from the Pittsburgh Steelers, entered Monday’s game fifth in the NFL in receiving. He has hauled in a team-leading 49 passes for 764 yards and six touchdowns. Lamb, meanwhile, has appeared in just six games, sidelined earlier this season with a high ankle sprain. He has 35 receptions for 491 yards and one score coming into the matchup.

The victory improves the Cowboys to 4-5-1 on the season with a chance to get back to .500 next Sunday at home vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.

On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report.