The Cowboys went into Week 11’s meeting with the defending AFC champion Chiefs knowing they’d be without wide receiver Amari Cooper, who tested positive on Friday for COVID-19. Given Cooper’s unvaccinated status and the team’s short turnaround before their Week 12 game, they also already know they’ll be without the four-time Pro Bowler on Thursday.
The team did not, however, plan on losing fellow wideout CeeDee Lamb at halftime of the 19-9 loss. Lamb suffered a head injury on an end-zone jump ball and was diagnosed with a concussion. With the Cowboys’ annual Thanksgiving Day game less than four days away, it appears unlikely that Lamb will clear the league’s concussion protocol in time to play.
That means quarterback Dak Prescott and the Cowboys offense will be looking to Michael Gallup and a host of depth receivers to carry the load against the Raiders… and hoping they do a better job than they did Sunday in Kansas City.
Prescott was not sharp versus the Chiefs, going 28-of-43 for 216 yards and a pair of interceptions. But his receiving corps did him no favors, either. The Cowboys pass-catchers unofficially tallied four drops on the day as they tried to make up for the absence of Cooper and the in-game loss of Lamb.
“I talked to him. He said he was fine, said he’ll be okay,” Prescott said of the team’s leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. “You’ve got to continue to move on, trust the guys we’ve got out there, and that’s what I did. He’ll be fine, so we’ll be okay.”
Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb banged head pretty hard here. Now, he’s ruled OUT vs. Chiefs with concussion.pic.twitter.com/j08qtyMYem
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) November 21, 2021
But with just a couple days before the Thanksgiving matchup, Lamb may not be fine in time for Thursday’s kickoff.
As NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday morning, “There’s been nothing firm and final, but four days is incredibly quick for someone to get through the concussion protocol. It sure seems right now” that Dallas will be without Lamb for Week 12.
“Folks have just got to step up,” said Gallup, who caught just five of his 10 targets versus the Chiefs. “That’s all on us. We’ve got to make those plays when they come to us. We just didn’t make the plays today. That’s on us. We’ll take that.”
“Whatever the coaches call,” Cedrick Wilson said after catching four of seven. “I’m ready whenever those guys can’t go. Sad to see CeeDee go down like that, and then obviously, the shock with Coop, but I’ve got to get in there for my team. Whatever they roll, I’m going in there, and I’ve got to execute.”
Wilson dropped a reverse, saying afterward he thought the play call was to be a handoff instead of a toss.
“I’ve got all the confidence in the world in them,” Gallup said of depth-chart receivers Wilson, Noah Brown, and Malik Turner. “I’ve been saying it since Day One. Those are my boys. If they need to step in, they have [done that] the whole season. That’s what we need to go do, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
The Cowboys had precious little time to tweak their game plan for Kansas City after the announcement late Friday that Cooper had tested positive for COVID. But head coach Mike McCarthy thought the offense would be able to adapt.
Mike McCarthy on Amari Cooper's absence: “You have particular special plays for particular receivers but we felt like we had enough time where we didn’t have to change our game plan a whole lot,” McCarthy said.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) November 22, 2021
Cooper will also miss the Week 12 game since his decision to go unvaccinated mandates a 10-day quarantine.
But his teammates and coaches refuse to treat Cooper’s vaccination status as an issue, despite how the team played without him… and now will have to again.
“It’s unfortunate not having him,” Prescott admitted. “To say ‘the decision he made,’ I mean, being vaccinated, I could get it and be out two games. Let’s try not to knock the guy or put the guy down for a personal decision.”
“Frankly, those decisions are all part of this quest that we’re under,” McCarthy added in his postgame remarks. “Those things are dealt with on an individual basis.”
Missing a top threat because he turned an ankle or pulled a hamstring is one thing. Having him sit at home because he opted not to get a vaccine that nearly two-thirds of Americans have received as a matter of course does rub many, though, as being very different.
It may be a “personal decision,” but being without their top two receivers on Thanksgiving as they head into the home stretch of the regular season and try to earn the NFC’s top playoff seed is something the Cowboys will now have to deal with collectively.
“That’s my teammate, that’s my brother, we’re going to support him. That’s his decision,” Prescott said of Cooper. “Unfortunate we’re not having him, but I know he’ll come back and be beneficial for us in the late part of the season.”
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