ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — CeeDee Lamb was unhappy about losing a ball in the sun on an incompletion that helped keep Dallas from scoring a go-ahead touchdown in the first half of a 34-6 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones was perturbed that the sun was brought up as an issue once again in his $1.2 billion retractable roof stadium, which has glass doors on either end.
AT&T Stadium has an unusual east-west alignment from end zone to end zone, as opposed to most venues being north-south. On clear days, the sun shines in the windows on the west side during the first half of games that kick off in the afternoon.
Lamb, Dallas’ All-Pro receiver, was looking into to sun in the second quarter while open on a crossing route in the end zone when a throw from Cooper Rush went behind him and he never adjusted to the ball.
Lamb then pointed to his eyes, and was making similar gestures on the sideline during another frustrating home loss for the Cowboys (3-6), who are on a four-game losing streak overall and 0-4 at AT&T Stadium.
“I couldn’t see the ball. Couldn’t see the ball, at all. The sun,” said Lamb, who ended a preseason-long holdout by signing a $136 million, four-year contract extension in late August.
Asked whether the Cowboys should put up curtains on that, Lamb said, “Yes. One thousand percent.”
And on the question of making the suggestion to Jones, Lamb said, “I mean, y’all are doing my job for me right now.”
It has been suggested plenty of times, and Jones has always flatly rejected it. The 82-year-old billionaire angrily rejected it after bringing up the issue unprompted in his post-game session with reporters.
“By the way, we know where the sun is going to be when we flip the coin, so we do know where the damn sun is going to be in our own stadium,” Jones said. “Let’s just tear the damn stadium down and build another one. Are you kidding me?”
While Jones’ response could be taken as a criticism of embattled coach Mike McCarthy, Jones said it wasn’t.
“Every team that comes in here has the same issues,” Jones said. “They know where the sun is going to be. Every team has the same thing. I’m not saying (it’s on McCarthy). I’m saying the world knows where the sun is. We get to know that almost a year in advance. So someone asked me about the sun. What about the sun? Where’s the moon? We’re fine. But everybody plays in the sun out here.”
The Cowboys are bracing for official word that quarterback Dak Prescott needs season-ending surgery for a torn hamstring. They have lost five in a row at AT&T Stadium, with five turnovers in each of the past two losses.
The curtains, or lack thereof, just add to the angst. The next time they will be an issue is Thanksgiving Day against the New York Giants.
“You can’t win games turning the ball over five times,” McCarthy said. “I don’t give a (expletive) who lines up. So that’s the part we got to get right.”
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Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press