In a disastrous season for the Dallas Cowboys, there has been one constant: CeeDee Lamb playing, and playing well. The First-Team All-Pro receiver has only missed one game in his five-year NFL career, a remarkable durability streak that looked to be in jeopardy, as a sprained AC joint has limited him in practice this week.
Lamb will have an extra day to get his shoulder right, as the Cowboys will face the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football in Arlington. The receiver said Thursday that he’d play, but he has not yet practiced fully and his official status for Monday’s contest is uncertain.
It would be a huge blow to Dallas’ chances of turning around its season around if Lamb is unable to suit up. After entering the season with Super Bowl aspirations, the Cowboys lost starting quarterback Dak Prescott to a hamstring tear and are just 5-7, 2.5 games back of the final playoff spot, currently held by the division rival Washington Commanders.
Quarterback Cooper Rush has been decent in relief of Prescott, having guided Dallas to wins over the Commanders and the lowly New York Giants to keep the Cowboys’ fledgling playoff hopes alive, but the Bengals will prove a tough test. Cincinnati is a 5.5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, and Lamb’s presence would greatly increase the Cowboys’ chances of pulling off a season-saving upset.
Thankfully for Cowboys fans, Lamb playing through his pain would be far from unprecedented. Although he sat out the majority of the fourth quarter in Dallas’ Thanksgiving Day victory over the Giants with the injury, it was the second similar shoulder sprain that he has suffered this season. The first occurred during a Week 9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, and although he exited the game momentarily that day, he played 80% of the Cowboys’ offensive snaps the following week against Philadelphia and recorded six catches for 21 yards in the blowout defeat.
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