CeeDee Lamb grew up partly in the Houston area after Hurricane Katrina forced his family out of New Orleans in 2005. On Sunday, playing his first NFL game there, he had the busiest afternoon of his professional life.
Lamb caught a career-high 17 passes for 189 yards, the Associated Press reported, and his 12-yard touchdown with 40 seconds remaining lifted the Dallas Cowboys past the Houston Texans, 34-30. Dak Prescott looked his way 21 times, according to ESPN's box score.
"I knew this one was a big one for him," Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said, according to the AP. "I know how much Houston means to him and his family means to him. And he put on a show."
Lamb said his grandmother made the trip. "She doesn't really come to many of my games and do all the hoorah and screaming," he said. "It was good to see my family here. It's just been a long road to end up in this situation and I'm grateful for it."
Most of the work came after halftime
Dallas went to the locker room down 16-6 after two long field-goal tries by Brandon Aubrey, one blocked and one wide, handed Houston short fields. Lamb helped flip the game early in the third quarter, hauling in a 30-yard pass that put the ball at the Houston 8. Javonte Williams ran it in on the next snap.
When the Cowboys strung together a 14-play drive that carried from the third quarter into the fourth, Lamb accounted for five catches and 69 yards on it, according to DallasCowboys.com. Williams finished the march with a 2-yard run that put Dallas in front for the first time, 27-23.
Houston went back ahead 30-27 on Woody Marks' 6-yard run with 2:23 to go. Lamb then caught four of Prescott's throws on the final possession, including gains of 15 and 8 yards, before Prescott found him over the middle from the 12 for the winner.
A third-down catch that lost 3 yards had briefly left Dallas facing fourth-and-4 at its own 32, and Jake Ferguson converted it.
"CeeDee's been great," Prescott said, per DallasCowboys.com. "Obviously today, but just throughout the whole season." The quarterback added that Houston's attention on George Pickens, who finished with two catches for 75 yards, kept leaving Lamb in single coverage.
