The Cowboys were pathetic. During their season opener at AT&T stadium the Cowboys’ offense wasted a valiant effort from its star studded defense and mustered only a field goal on their opening drive before being blanked the remainder of the game. While Prescott and the offensive line were both horrid, Ceedee Lamb was the biggest disappointment of the night. Lamb was completely shutdown all night; on 11 targets Lamb only caught 2 passes for 29 yards.

Lamb also dropped two balls and was called for an offensive pass interference that nullified his biggest reception of the day. Lamb’s performance is troublesome as this is not the first time that he has come up short when relied on to lead the offense. Last year during the matchup against Kansas City, Lamb was relied on to be the primary play maker in the absence of Amari Cooper. Instead of taking this opportunity to cement himself as the future of the franchise at receiver, Lamb and the offense struggled. Before leaving with a head injury at half Lamb was only able to catch 3 passes for 14 yards.

While his performance was bad enough, the efficiency of the offense without him was a bigger indictment. The following week against the Raiders both Michael Gallup and Cedric Wilson were both able to log over 100 yards receiving as Lamb sat out with the head injury he suffered in Kansas City. With his inconsistency when called upon to lead the offense, and the Cowboys past success without him, it is now safe to wonder if the Cowboys have a true number 1 receiver. While Lamb has been a productive receiver in the league his success has always come playing alongside Amari Cooper, who was matched up against opposing teams’ best defensive backs and was the receiver drawing double coverage. Now with Prescott expected to miss a large portion of the season with an injury to his throwing hand even more pressure will be on Lamb to produce for Cooper Rush as the Cowboys scramble to salvage their season. Lamb will have to prove he is capable of answering the call and being the lead receiver for the Cowboys’ pass attack and if he is unable to the Cowboys’ may find themselves facing some touch decisions in the weeks to come.