Cowboys Bench CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens Against Raiders in Stunning Move Fans Won’t Believe, and the Reason Will Spark Debate.QQ
Dallas Cowboys v Denver Broncos | Jamie Schwaberow/GettyImages
The Dallas Cowboys’ first offensive series in exactly 14 days was a brutal watch. It would’ve helped having CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens on the field.
It was a bizarre development, as neither Lamb nor Pickens carried an injury designation this week. ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters swiftly ruled out that their absences were injury-related.
Cowboys reporters did some digging and discovered that it was disciplinary, with Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram noting that Lamb and Pickens “missed some things.”
Cowboys bench CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens for disciplinary reasons
It was a coach’s decision to have Cowboys WRs CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens miss the first series. It was not injury related. As it was communicated to me, “they missed some things.”
Brian Schottenheimer will provide more after the game, but this is not the start that Cowboys fans drew up with the team coming off its bye week.
While a disappointment, it does confirm that Schottenheimer is holding every player to the same standard.
Schottenheimer has used the term consistency” to explain why Mazi Smith and Jaydon Blue were healthy scratches earlier in the year. While Lamb and Pickens have been superstars on the field, they are not above being benched. It’s part of the culture that Schottenheimer has tried to cultivate since he was hired as head coach in January.
On the ESPN broadcast, Troy Aikman thought the decision boiled down to effort. If there is one area where Lamb and Pickens deserve to be critiqued, it’s their effort on plays where they aren’t targeted.
“I think you watch them at times this year, I think you can question some of the effort that’s been given,” Aikman said. “And maybe that’s the shot across the bow that Brian Schottenheimer just delivered.”
Lamb and Pickens have since returned to the game. It’s hardly uncommon for coaches to send a message by benching players for one or two series. You would have hoped it didn’t come right after the bye week — or at all — but Schottenheimer hasn’t pulled any punches in year one on the job. If he felt a message needed to be sent, it probably did.
