The Cowboys were looking for some clarity. Instead, they left Detroit with more questions, noise, and a $125 million dilemma that just keeps getting louder with every snap. The conversation has shifted: Should Jerry Jones invest long-term in George Pickens when his consistency is being called into question on national TV?

Thursday night didn’t do Pickens any favors. It highlighted the difference between elite talent and the reliability that’s expected week in and week out. The criticism began with Richard Sherman, who used the TNF postgame desk to deliver the harshest assessment yet of Pickens’ effort.

“Just looked uninterested in playing football… If you’re going to be a superstar, if you want to be the best receiver in the National Football League, you can never be disengaged,” Sherman said. He pointed directly to Pickens’ routes and involvement once CeeDee Lamb exited with a concussion. 

His core argument: a true WR1 cannot disappear, especially when the offense needs him most. Sherman even challenged Dallas’ looming financial decision, asking whether Pickens is someone the Cowboys can “trust paying $40 million” a year.

The numbers on Thursday backed Sherman’s frustration. Pickens finished with five catches for 37 yards in the 44-33 loss, his second game under 40 yards this season. He also has not scored since Week 12, breaking the early-season rhythm that once made him a central piece of Dallas’ playoff hopes. Fans echoed Sherman’s sentiment online, calling his effort “lazy” and questioning his accountability after a route contributed to Dak Prescott’s interception.

Jerry Jones may need to rethink some of his comments from the day before Pickens’ rough outing in Detroit. The timing is now sharpening the scrutiny around the receiver’s long-term value. On 105.3 The Fan, he said, “He’s lived and is playing better than we could have even anticipated… he’s an outstanding, let me emphasize this again, outstanding teammate. He brings energy to the team, even when he’s not making some of those great receptions.”

Spotrac projected a four-year, $125 million extension for Pickens, which would be $31.25 million annually. The model places him firmly among elite receivers, though still below Lamb’s 2024 deal of $136 million over four years. That structure preserves the internal hierarchy Dallas values.

The Cowboys sit at 6-6-1 with two home games ahead. Dallas isn’t just fighting for playoff life, it’s weighing whether Pickens is a $125 million pillar of its future or a player who still has something to prove.

But the debate around Pickens wasn’t the only storm in Detroit. As the game tightened, another issue arose: the officiating.

Cowboys’ rally cut down by back-to-back flags

The Dallas Cowboys continued to chase a spark in Detroit. For a moment, they found one. Then two penalties arrived and wiped out everything they had built.

Early in the fourth quarter, Dallas finally strung together a rhythm. CeeDee Lamb broke loose for a rare chunk gain. Momentum followed. Yet on the next snap, Jake Ferguson caught a short pass under pressure and turned upfield only for officials to rule it a backward toss, costing the Cowboys 16 yards. The drive never recovered.

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Moments later, the play that defined the night landed. Officials flagged Ferguson for offensive pass interference on 3rd-and-3 from the Lions’ 11. Broadcast angles showed linebacker Alex Anzalone pulling Ferguson’s jersey, but the call went the other way. The ruling stunned the Cowboys’ sideline and the broadcast booth.

Dak Prescott didn’t hide his reaction. “Do I get fined for talking about this?… I’m sorry, that was bad,” he said. He added that he had “never seen a call like that,” even after speaking with the referee, who claimed Ferguson “aggressively pulled through.”

The frustration wasn’t new. Earlier, George Pickens was hit with an offensive pass interference that erased a promising drive. Prescott repeated the same line: “It was bad… I’ve never seen a call like that.”

As Dallas trailed by 11 late, Prescott hit Ryan Flournoy for 23 yards down to the Detroit 12. The play could have shifted the game. Instead, officials flagged Pickens for an illegal pick, pushing Dallas backward by 33 yards. Whatever momentum remained evaporated.

These calls didn’t decide the 44-30 loss. Dallas still needed a defensive stop and never got one. But the timing and the playoff stakes made the officiating impossible to ignore. With fines across the league already past $5.7 million, Prescott may find the league office reacting next.