FRISCO, Texas (AP) — CeeDee Lamb's chance at making NFL receiving history was news to Dallas offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer when the Cowboys were blowing out the New York Giants in the fourth quarter.
The coaching staff was sorting through lineup changes with a five-touchdown lead in Dallas' 49-17 victory Sunday when Schottenheimer got word that Lamb needed one catch and 8 yards receiving to become the first in league history with at least 10 catches and 150 yards in three consecutive games.
Cooper Rush already had replaced star quarterback Dak Prescott, and the coaches weren't going to reverse that move.
But Schottenheimer went to coach Mike McCarthy to see if he wanted to give Lamb a shot at an NFL first.
“That's got to come from the head coach,” Schottenheimer said Monday. “And he's like, ‘Let’s do it.'”
The Cowboys made sure Rush was aware, and his first two plays were throws of 5 yards and 4 yards to Lamb, who finished with 11 catches for 151 yards with a receiving touchdown and a rushing score.
“Yes, it was brought to my attention,” Lamb, who got another big day going with a spectacular one-handed grab, said after the game.
“No,” he said when asked if the ball was going anywhere else when he returned to the game.
Lamb's run started with 12 catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns in a 43-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. He had a career high in yards for the second consecutive week with 191, on 11 catches, in a 28-23 loss to Philadelphia.
McCarthy said after the game that he didn't hesitate to put Lamb back in.
“How many times are you in a position like that?” McCarthy asked. “You feel worse as a coach if I walk in there and you ask me why the hell didn’t you leave him out there for 9 yards. I’ve had it happen before. I think this league is so competitive, when you are in that position. I think it’s the respect that you should show your player to accomplish that record.”
McCarthy got his break as an NFL coach in Kansas City under the late Marty Schottenheimer — Brian Schottenheimer's dad.
“I’ve been around some coaches, probably my father would have been one to be like: 'Nah, we’re good. We're not going to do that,'” Schottenheimer said. “CeeDee wanted to do it. We talked through it, and it made sense.”
Schottenheimer, in his first year as Dallas' offensive coordinator with McCarthy calling plays after joining the staff last year as a consultant, got as big a kick out of the scene as anybody.
“I told CeeDee after the game, we were waiting for the clock to run down, I said, ‘I hope they ask for your shoes in Canton because that’s never happened,’” Schottenheimer said. “And he kind of looked at his shoes and said, ‘These?’”
There was just one player kept out of the festivities.
“Dak actually wanted to go back in and do it,” Schottenheimer said. “And we're like: ‘Eh, we got this. Sit this one out.’”
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