The Dallas Cowboys racked up seven penalties in the first half of the season opener against the New York Giants. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb nearly added another one to it.
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“An official started pulling a flag out of his pocket to throw a taunting flag post-TD on CeeDee Lamb but then put it back, 7-7 with 544 left in the half,” Pat Leonard posted on X.
It was an underwhelming night for Lamb overall. The WR1 dropped a pass in the game. With 5:44 left in the second quarter, Dallas found itself staring down third and goal from the Giants’ one-yard line after two Javonte Williams runs went nowhere. So Dak Prescott turned to his guy instead. He dropped in a perfect back shoulder throw, and Lamb hauled it in for his first score of the season and the 42nd of his career.
“It looked as if Lamb might have pushed off, but no flag was thrown,” NBC Sports’ Myles Simmons wrote.
That touchdown also moved him past Billy Joe Dupree for sole possession of eighth on the Cowboys’ all-time receiving touchdown list, a milestone he reached in just 95 games.
However, Dallas got to scoring range only because New York drew penalties too. The Giants picked up a defensive pass interference call on Greg Newsome after a deep shot to George Pickens, moving the ball to the NY’s 38. A few plays later, Dru Phillips was flagged for a DPI, setting Dallas up at the New York’s 2-yard line. That’s when Prescott found Lamb for the score.
However, Dallas kept it relatively clean in the second half. They drew only two more penalties, finishing the game with 9 flags for 90 yards.
Lamb had a lot of expectations on his shoulders entering the Giants game, which marked his return from an injury-marred 2025 season. He led the team in receiving yards with 44, but the longest he could catch for was only 15 yards. New York outgained Dallas on offense, racking up a total of 394 offensive yards against Dallas’ 244.
This isn’t exactly new territory for Lamb when it comes to the Giants. In October 2024, he was fined $25,324 for two cases of unsportsmanlike conduct in Week 4, one of which was for taunting following a 55-yard touchdown against New York.
Then there was last season’s Week 2 win over the Giants, which turned into an expensive night for two Cowboys receivers. After Pickens caught the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter, he and Lamb celebrated together in a way the league didn’t love, and both got fined for it.
It looked like a swagger dance, but they mimicked guns in that pose, which drew the flag.
Pickens took his helmet off before leaving the field and was popped with a second fine too. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported both players were docked $14,491 for the celebration, with Pickens hit for another $14,491 on top of it. Neither moment drew a flag on the field.
“I actually want to do better,” Pickens told Bleacher Report this year. “I’ve been actually turned over this new leaf. So I’ve been doing. I’ve been wanting getting better at the fines. Like I say some stuff you just can’t control; life comes at you so fast.”
Sunday night’s game had that same undisciplined feel early on. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer didn’t hide his frustration at halftime, with his team trailing 14-7.
“Not good enough on either side of the ball,” Schottenheimer said on NBC. “We gotta do a better job running the ball, stopping the run. The penalties aren’t good enough. Too many drops. We’ll get going. A lot of things to clean up.”
Dallas doesn’t get much time to fix it either. Lamb and the Cowboys are right back at it in Week 2, hosting the Washington Commanders in another NFC East showdown