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Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas — Sometimes when it’s going well, it’s really going well. Even on accident.
First-and-10 from the New York Giants‘ 28 on Sunday, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was under pressure and, with his left leg in the air, he flung a pass to the sideline where CeeDee Lamb came down with a 17-yard grab.
“I’ll be honest,” Prescott said. “I was throwing it away, but that’s CeeDee Lamb being CeeDee Lamb.”
Three plays later, Prescott had a 10-yard rushing touchdown and the Cowboys had a 28-0 lead on their way to a 42-17 win against New York.
In their past four games, the Prescott-to-Lamb connection has been nearly unstoppable.
Since Week 6, Lamb’s 41 catches are tied with Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson for most in the league, but Hockenson has played one more game than Lamb during that stretch. Lamb’s 617 yards are the most in the NFL. According to ESPN Stats & Information, nobody else even has 500 yards. His 10.3 catches and 154.3 yards per game are the most in the NFL.
In just this four-game span, Lamb’s catches would be 11th in the league and his yards would be 21st for the season. His 68 catches for the season are sixth most and his 975 yards are third most.
In the win against the Giants, he became the first receiver in NFL history with three straight games of at least 10 catches and 150 yards.
“I’m one of them ones,” Lamb said after catching 11 passes for 151 yards against the Giants. “I’m the top receiver in this game and there’s no question about it. If there is, see y’all again next week.”
Prescott has the most touchdown passes since Week 6 (12) and he is second in passing yards (1,354), but Washington’s Sam Howell (1,434 yards) has played one more game. Prescott’s 338.5 yards per game are the most in the NFL since Week 6.
Over that four-game stretch, Prescott has completed 70% of his passes (101-of-145), and he has also run for two scores.
“He’s playing as good as I’ve ever seen him play,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said of Prescott. “I can say as good as I’ve ever seen him play. He’s playing with knowledge, confidence, but knowledge of the offense. He’s playing in sync with his coaching. As good as I’ve seen him play.”
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Domonique Foxworth and the “Get Up” crew discuss Dak Prescott’s impressive 2023 season.
It is at least as good as his start to the 2021 season. In the first six games then, Prescott completed 73.1% of his passes for 1,813 yards with 16 touchdown passes and four interceptions. The Cowboys were 5-1, but he suffered a calf injury in the overtime win against the New England Patriots, in which he and Lamb connected for the winning score, and missed one game. He was not as good after that injury.
“I’ve never been a statistics guy, honestly, so in that sense it doesn’t matter,” Prescott said. “But what I can tell you is I’ve never been as confident, as free, as connected with the other guys in the offense, playcalling, and just this whole system in what we’re trying to get after, as I am now.”
The Cowboys have had great quarterback-receiver combinations like Roger Staubach and Drew Pearson, Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin and Tony Romo and Dez Bryant (or Terrell Owens). Prescott-to-Lamb is quickly joining that conversation.
“It’s really cool when you see CeeDee or a player just really hit his stride,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “What’s great for the Dallas Cowboys is that he’s going to be doing that for a long time. I think with Dak Prescott, you have a guy that you can grow with. Not only is it great for those two, but it’s good for the whole group. It raises the standard that everybody has to play to.”
Worrying about the contractual status of both players can wait with both signed through 2024, although the extension price for both will be hefty. The more pressing question is will they be this productive as the Cowboys face tougher opponents, especially a five-week span beginning in Week 13 when they face the Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions?
Prescott agreed with Lamb’s self-assessment that he is the best currently. He said Lamb, who is just 24, “is scratching the surface.”
“I know the work that he puts into this,” Prescott said. “You’re not going to be able to cover him one-on-one. I don’t know who you are or who you have, or who you think you have on the other side, you’re just not going to be able to cover him. At that point, you’re forced to put two people on him, and he will still beat that at times.”
And Lamb doesn’t doubt Prescott can continue this streak when the Cowboys (6-3) face the Carolina Panthers (1-8) Sunday (1 p.m. ET, Fox) and beyond. He’s seen it before, and not too long ago in 2021.
“Yes, I have,” Lamb said. “And I can’t wait to see it again next week, the following week and the week after.”
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