Why the Cowboys Dropped the Ball

In the NFL season opener for the Dallas Cowboys, CeeDee Lamb and Miles Sanders combined for a fumble lost and three dropped passes. The word crucial could have been applied to any of them, but the two drops by Lamb on the final drive were particularly painful.

Lamb is without a doubt a phenomenal talent at wide receiver. He’s on pace to break a host of records if he sticks around. Yet, he couldn’t haul in two catchable passes thrown by Dak Prescott on the final drive in one of, if not the most important game of the regular season against their archrivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.

He dove to put himself in position to catch the pass on the Cowboys’ final play, and it hit him right in the hands. Did he just miss it, or did he miss it because the safety was bearing down? That’s an important distinction. Chris Collinsworth couldn’t blame him for that drop. How do the Cowboys’ fans feel about it?

Perhaps other issues were at play, like rust. Lamb, like most of the starters didn’t play a snap in the preseason. That couldn’t have anything to do with a series of dropped passes, could it?

Monetary Demotivation

After holding out in 2024, Lamb got what he was demanding. He signed a four-year, $136 million contract extension with $100 million guaranteed.

Jerry Jones couldn’t have avoided paying him—particularly after he appointed him with the iconic jersey #88, which Jones sees as a rite of passage for the player of his choosing. Lamb accepted, so long as it made him the second-highest paid non-quarterback in the league.

And again, we’re not saying he doesn’t deserve the money. His talent is through the roof and he can singlehandedly take the team under his wing if he so chooses.

But there was zero motivation for Lamb to take that hit by the safety from a non-incentive-based contract perspective. He’s not trying to expose himself to a potential helmet-to-helmet collision and risk his long-term health. Maybe getting over 1,000 yards for four straight seasons is motivation enough.

Miles and Miles

Then there’s the story of Miles Sanders. He used to be a coveted member of the Eagles. He went to the Pro Bowl led them to the Super Bowl they lost in 2023. The Eagles then replaced him with Saquon Barkley and they went on to win the Lombardi that Sanders didn’t get.

Now he’s back in the division, extra motivated against his former team, and playing backup running back to Javonte Williams. This was supposed to be his retribution game. And it looked like it was going to be just that.

Sanders broke away on a beauty of a 49-yard rush that took the Cowboys inside the redzone. Then on the very next play he had the ball stripped out of his hands by ambitious defenders while surging forward.

This wasn’t a case of traumatophobia—and it certainly wasn’t because Sanders has a cushy contract. Coach Brian Schottenheimer probably just wanted him to seize his moment after the long run. You know, a shove it down their throats with their former player sort of thing. And it was going to be glorious.

But it wasn’t meant to be, not this time. If all goes well, Sanders will get another shot at his former team in November. And Schotty gets to take another crack at them too.

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