Why Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb has extra motivation against Giants in Week 2

FRISCO, Texas -- Wide receivers dream of the volume of targets Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb received in Week 1 against the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles. 

Quarterback Dak Prescott targeted Lamb on 13 of his 34 passes, meaning 39.4% of his throws went to No. 88 -- the fifth-highest team target percentage in the entire league in Week 1. Lamb corralled seven of them for 110 yards, but the dream come true turned into a nightmare when the clock hit zero: Lamb registered four drops, a career-high and the most in a game by any NFL player since 2021, and two of them came on Dallas' final drive. A catch on either of those plays, a second-down drop on a post route down the right sideline and a fourth-down drop on a vertical route down the left sideline, could have been the difference in what was a 24-20 defeat. That's why Lamb struggled to sleep all weekend. 

"I didn't get any rest, really that whole weekend. That's the competitor that I am and how much I'm true to the game as far as being honest and just giving it everything I got because I do love this game," Lamb said on Thursday. "I love this squad, and I love the guys that I do it with. As for me, just holding my end of the bargain and just pulling through for the guys."  

Despite the sloppy performance, Lamb refuses to shy away from the spotlight that comes with the big moments. He wants to be in those moments. 

"Us as a team, we got to just play right and play together and make the routine plays, make the plays that come to us, and I'm speaking for myself as well," Lamb said. "The opportunity that presented itself, obviously, I fell short of it a couple of times. I know I'll be prepared for that moment next time. ... I would rather nobody else than myself in those situations. I came up short once. We'll see the rest."

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It's one thing to talk the talk, but Lamb is walking the walk. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer told local media on a conference call the Friday after the game that Lamb came into Dallas' facility the very next day despite the team getting back from Philadelphia around five in the morning. Video evidence backed up Schottenheimer's story.  

"That wasn't supposed to go viral. I wasn't doing that for any Internet to be honest. So I came in on a day when nobody was in the building and I still caught a camera. I didn't even know that the camera was there, shout out to them," Lamb said. "As for me bro, it's going back to my fundamentals. I know what it is. I know what to do. Again, it's Game 1, we got 16 more of these. Go back to the 2023 season, it wasn't drops, it was lack of production. Then, it was this big hoorah and then boom [Lamb led the NFL with 135 catches in 2023]. Just keep the main thing the main thing and continue to be myself. Continue to grind and I'll let the work do the talking."  

A work ethic like that is why teammates like Prescott are able to quickly move past a rough night for the Cowboys WR1. 

"Yeah, CeeDee is a true pro. Started off, right, with him after that game, taking accountability whether it was in the locker room with the players or whether it's to you guys at the media. But not only just saying it but coming in that next day. We all heard he was on the jugs, just getting his reps," Prescott said. "You know that doesn't wipe that away, but that just allows you to feel better about the next opportunity that you get. He's taking the right approach to do that and look out for those guys in the back end to have to catch him and cover him. ... You can just tell from his demeanor that he wants to make up for that."

Before kickoff in Week 1, Schottenheimer made sure Lamb knew how much he believed in him: he showed Lamb all the plays on his playcall sheet with No. 88 as the top option. 

"I showed CeeDee before the game all of his targets. So on the back of your call sheet, you have to get the ball to certain people, and it was like 'CeeDee look at all your targets.' Literally, George's was right below him, and I was like 'look at all of George's targets.' Obviously the way we're designing the game plan is to feature your playmakers," Schottenheimer said on Monday. "It's very evident that those two guys are elite players. ... So again, it's more of them just knowing 'hey, we see you. You're a great player. We're going to try to get you the ball as much as possible.' There's only one ball to go around. A lot of it is the two of them have such a great relationship that George was happy with CeeDee with his production. Guess what? When it flips, CeeDee will be happy for George and vice versa."  

That moment was a brief moment, but it's one that will stick with Lamb all season long. 

"It's amazing. It's a good feeling, knowing that you're going to be a prime option in the game going in," Lamb said of that pregame exchange with Schottenheimer. "That boosts your momentum and your mindset. Let's you know you're getting ready to go to work for this game [whether] the ball is coming to me or not, I'm going to give my 100% effort in my routes, continue to get open, stay open, and make up the play."  

Prescott also made sure to shoot Lamb a text shortly after the game to make sure his top target knows the four drops won't change their on-field relationship: No. 88 will remain option No. 1. That message meant the world to Lamb. 

"Yeah, I'm not gonna stop throwing you the ball. That's a game, bro.' Same thing I told y'all. It wasn't the best day. It wasn't the best day for CeeDee. It's understandable. It happens. Hell, I've had them, right? We've all had them," Prescott said. "Nobody, especially, I'm not gonna lose confidence in. And so don't worry, just keep approaching the way that you're approaching, and you're going to have a bounce back and many of them."

"Yeah, at that moment, that's when we lean on each other as brothers, because at the end of the day he knows I got him and vice versa," Lamb said. "Again with me coming up short in a division game, granted it was big, trust me I've thought about it, I've dwelled on it, I've done everything that you could possibly imagine about this game. For all those that feel like they feel worse about that game than me, you're absolutely wrong."

On top of being driven to make up for Week 1 mistakes, Lamb will also be fueled by revenge on Sunday when matching up with the New York Giants (0-1). He first tweaked his shoulder last season on a tackle made by Giants nickelback Dru Phillips in Dallas' 20-15 Week 4 at New York on "Thursday Night Football." Lamb ended up getting shut down after Week 16 with a nagging AC joint sprain that left the 26-year-old focused on just keeping his shoulder "attached to his body" at the time. 

"He tackled me and hurt me," Lamb said. "So I got something for him. For sure."