CeeDee Lamb and the Dallas Cowboys are set to host the Houston Texans in Week 11 on Monday Night Football. Dallas is already without Dak Prescott, who is expected to miss the rest of the season due to a hamstring injury.
In their first game without Prescott, the Cowboys scored only six points against the Philadelphia Eagles. Cooper Rush will remain as their starting quarterback as Dallas aims to avoid a fifth straight loss.
The Cowboys have lost all four of their home games this season and have been outscored 153-59 in this stretch. With Prescott out hurt, the season is already over for Dallas, but there will be a priority to avoid another embarrassing loss at home.
Will CeeDee Lamb Play in Week 11?
Updated at 4:20 PM ET on Thursday, December 26
Lamb has officially been ruled out for the remainder of the NFL season due to a shoulder injury.
Based on Dallas’ final injury report, the Cowboys could also be without Lamb for the game against the Texans. The star wide receiver is listed as questionable due to a back injury. As per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed that Lamb’s injury is “not of high concern.”
Lamb has not missed a single game this season, and the team will hope that he’ll be cleared to play on Monday night.
Lamb signed a four-year, $136 million contract extension before the start of the season but hasn’t had production similar to last year. In nine games, he has 59 receptions for 681 yards and four touchdowns on 94 targets. The Oklahoma product averaged 102.9 receiving yards per game last season but has been limited to 75.7 this season.
The entire Cowboys offense has struggled this year, and the situation will worsen without Prescott. Dallas’s failure to improve at the running back position has cost them this year, and their fans are already looking forward to next season.
Some fans even believe that Lamb’s questionable status for Week 11 could directly indicate the team is tanking for the 2025 NFL Draft, although knowing how NFL players and coaches operate, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
PFN Offense+ Analytics Give Cowboys Offense a D Grade
PFN’s offense rankings combine statistics such as yards per play, points per drive, turnover percentage, success rate against the run and pass, third-down conversion rate, red-zone efficiency, pressure percentage when not blitzing, and various expected points added (EPA) measures against both the run and pass. These are then weighted accordingly to produce our rankings for each season.
Dak Prescott will miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury suffered in Week 9, all but ending a forgettable season. While that is a significant loss, this offense has been struggling with their starting QB. Through nine weeks, Dallas ranked 27th in pass success rate and 31st in red-zone touchdown rate, metrics that seem unlikely to improve as this season progresses under the lead of Cooper Rush.
CeeDee Lamb is special, but the lack of offensive balance has undone this unit. The Cowboys haven’t been able to pick up yards on the ground this season, and the lack of a secondary pass catcher to the degree that they went out and acquired Jonathan Mingo at the deadline is a problem.
Fans React to Lamb Being Listed As Questionable for Game vs. the Texans
Here’s how fans reacted to the latest update on Lamb’s availability for the Week 11 game against the Texans:
Cowboys embracing the tank
— ゴールデン (@FeelLikeGolden) November 16, 2024
“Buddy has nothing to play for anymore,” said one fan.
Another fan added: “Probably tired of a team that’s quit on him. I’d take a rest too. Don’t need Cooper throwing any more of those hospital crossing routes.”
WE COMING BABY pic.twitter.com/ZJLednbnAU
— Geek (@GeekDaFreakkkkk) November 16, 2024
“Shut him down for the Season, Cowboys aren’t making the playoffs,” wrote one fan.
“ASHTON JEANTY, YOU, ARE A DALLAS COWBOY,” wrote one fan referring to Cowboys improving their chances of getting a higher pick and drafting the Boise State running back.
Cowboys are in tanking mode now to bad they paid their below average QB 240mil with 231mil guaranteed lmao 😂😂 can't make it up 😂😭😭
— Juan Leon (@TheLeon117) November 16, 2024
Since the Cowboys have already signed Prescott to a four-year, $240 million extension, they are set at the quarterback position for the foreseeable future. However, a higher draft pick could position them to draft a generational prospect like Travis Hunter, although the Cowboys would have to be picking at the top of the draft to secure the right to select him.
If the Cowboys cannot get Hunter, they’ll be in an ideal spot to draft an offensive lineman or trade back to draft Jeanty. Dallas has to get a new running back after this season, and the pressure is on Jerry Jones to make sure that the team is ready to contend in 2025.
Cowboys Select Ashton Jeanty in Latest PFN Mock Draft
In the latest mock draft from Kent Platte here at PFN, he has the Cowboys selecting 11th overall and picking Ashton Jeanty from Boise State.
Platte writes, “There’s a lot that has gone wrong for the Dallas Cowboys in 2024, and week after week, it seems like they find new ways to fill their fans with new forms of disappointment. In the long term, however, their team isn’t in that bad of a shape.
I think the Cowboys can take a page out of the Detroit Lions playbook here and build from their line out, but they’re in good enough shape that they can start by bringing in one of the best playmakers in the draft.
Ashton Jeanty brings a playmaking ability the Dallas Cowboys haven’t seen since Zeke’s rookie season, and I’d argue strongly that Jeanty is a far superior prospect. A danger all over the field would make the team’s offensive identity immediately identifiable, which would be a massive improvement of its current state of disrepair.”