CeeDee Lamb takes aim at NFL officiating following Dallas Cowboys win over Indianapolis Colts in Week 9
The Dallas Cowboys wide receiver had 195 receiving yards. But he wasn’t exactly happy with his fumble nor with officiating in Indianapolis.
It’s easy to be happy about catching ten passes for 195 yards in a single game in the NFL. But wide receiver CeeDee Lamb had mixed feelings about it following the Dallas Cowboys’ win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1.
Mostly, that was because of his fumble. Lamb was visibly frustrated heading into the locker room following the game, when Jon Machota of The Athletic captured him on video saying: “Oh my God I (expletive) fumbled. I hate that (expletive).”
Additionally, Lamb didn’t appear to be very happy about the officiating, either. And he didn’t shy away from discussing both topics at the end of the game.
Lamb says refs “had it out” against him in Week 9
With a chance to make it a two-possession game in the fourth quarter, Lamb picked up a 48-yard gain following a huge mistake by the Colts secondary to not make sure he was down by contact. However, the play was reversed to a fumble recovered by the Colts upon further review.
“Before the review, obviously, I thought I was down because I felt, I don’t know who it was, I think it was a linebacker, he hit me in my back as I was trying to make a move, ” Lamb said via Patrik Walker of DallasCowboys.com. “And I went down. But I used my arm with the ball, which, obviously, I feel like I shouldn’t have, but when you’re in a moment of moving around, I guess when you’re in a situation, you’re not really thinking.”
Still, Lamb believes he was down by contact. And he shared some discontent with the officials.
“But I know not to use the ball to keep my balance next time, but I also thought I was down by contact. Clearly, the refs had it out for me this week,” Lamb added. “The refs weren’t messing with me this week.”
I will say this: Replay showed a clear fumble. Since his hand was the one making contact with the ground and not the ball, it wasn’t a “ground can’t cause fumble situation.” Lamb simply fumbled. And it was a costly mistake.
But that wasn’t the only play that caused Lamb to send such a message.
Controversial OPIs on Lamb
Where I think Lamb has a point is in the offensive pass interference department. Officials called three offensive pass interferences on the Cowboys, including two on CeeDee Lamb. That is the kind of foul that gets called at a very low rate but on Sunday, it was part of the main attraction.
The first call on Lamb was particularly weak, in my opinion, as there was a lot of hand fighting by both players going on. The second seemed fair, as Lamb fully extended his arm to create separation. Lamb was also called for a false start, bringing his tally to three penalties of the Cowboys’ 14.
The Cowboys have to clean up their penalty problem, as it cost them 153 yards on Sunday’s win. Had they lost, it would have been a huge talking point. The coaching staff should treat it as such.
As for Lamb, hopefully, he doesn’t get into trouble. The NFL prohibits players and coaches from making critical comments about officials. It didn’t seem like Lamb’s comments were strong enough to warrant any discipline.
