The game was there to win for the Dallas Cowboys. They had opportunities to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in their own building, and spoil the Super Bowl ceremony. It was not meant to be; the biggest moments of the game for the Cowboys had one central theme, the offense couldn’t hold onto the ball in the season opening 24-20 loss.
CeeDee Lamb is one of the NFL’s top wide receivers, but when the team needed him most, the All-Pro let the Cowboys down. After saying that he was going to work on reducing his drops and having a goal of not dropping a pass all year, things got off to an inauspicious start for Lamb. The box score will show seven catches for 110 yards to lead the offense, but Lamb had four drops, including three in the final quarter of the close loss.
There won’t be many games like this for Lamb, but he was one of the biggest culprits in why the Cowboys’ comeback attempt fell short. As inexcusable as the first two drops were, it was Lamb’s third bobble that crushed the team’s chances.
With just under three minutes remaining in the game, quarterback Dak Prescott threw a perfect deep pass to Lamb, which would have been a big gain and possibly ended up as a score, but the receiver couldn’t bring it in.
One day Dak will eventually stop being the most unlucky qb in the sport pic.twitter.com/MAmXyot1am
— Dallas Sports Fan (@DakToCeedee88) September 5, 2025
How did CeeDee not catch that?!?!?????
That was a DOT.— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) September 5, 2025
That was Lamb’s third drop, and maybe it got into his head because three plays later Prescott threw another beautiful ball to his leading WR, this time down the sideline on fourth down, but a diving Lamb had that pass go through his arms and incomplete. A tougher catch than the other three, yet the type of grab he’s made plenty of times in his career.
Lamb’s four drop played a huge role in the loss; however, he wasn’t the only Cowboy who had trouble holding onto the ball. Tight end Jake Ferguson dropped a would-be touchdown from Prescott in the third quarter which would’ve given the Cowboys the lead.
Reed Blankenship was called for unnecessary roughness after delivering this hit to Jake Ferguson, who was ruled defenseless. pic.twitter.com/ZnyO1JmDK0
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) September 5, 2025
It was another tough catch, but one that should be made. Prescott put the ball right where it needed to be, but Ferguson couldn’t pull it in. The next play was a fumble from running back Miles Sanders, who also couldn’t hold onto the ball, giving away the ball in the red zone, costing the Cowboys points.
Eagles knock the ball loose for the first turnover of the game!
DALvsPHI on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/AqNWvimMrM— NFL (@NFL) September 5, 2025
Dallas never got close to scoring again.
This was a game for the taking, the Cowboys had plenty of opportunities to beat the Eagles to open their season. Instead, in the key moments of the contest, the Cowboys couldn’t hang onto the ball to secure a win. Lamb’s drops will be the story, and he’ll be kicking himself for not coming down with those catches.
Games in the NFL often come down to a few plays: make them and you win, don’t, and you lose. In the big moments, the Cowboys didn’t make the simple plays needed to win. An opportunity lost.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys, WR CeeDee Lamb drop perfect opportunity to upset Eagles party
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