The Dallas Cowboys’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night may have tempered any possible tension between Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, but Cris Collinsworth, Mike Tirico and the NBC broadcast may not have helped.
Early in the second half of the Cowboys’ win, Prescott threw a brutal pass intended for Lamb in the end zone that was picked off, sparking an exchange between the quarterback and wide receiver on the sideline. Shortly after, NBC aired the exchange as Collinsworth and Tirico speculated on the potential tension between them.
“Hard to explain just thrown into coverage and something’s wrong,” Collinsworth said of the interception, which may have been putting it mildly because it was a terrible pick by Prescott.
The broadcast then focused on Lamb’s sideline reaction to the pass.
“CeeDee Lamb at the end at the end of that,” Collinsworth said. “I’ll let you read your own lips. At Dak. Dak doesn’t react at all. Doesn’t look good.”
“Not a bit,” Tirico added. “Not a bit.”
Prescott was sitting on the bench with his head down while Lamb was saying something to him from afar didn’t really seem like a big deal. In terms of sideline interactions, this one was very measured.
Collinsworth was also acting as if he knew what Lamb said and presumed the audience did to, but this was a tough one to read. It didn’t appear to be profane, so whatever Collinsworth thought Lamb said, he probably could have relayed it over the broadcast. Or maybe, Collinsworth just opted for the “I’ll let you read your own lips” because he had no idea what Lamb said.
It seemed like the Cowboys wide receiver may have been telling Prescott, “Subpar throw, subpar, Dak.” And if that’s the case, an argument can be made that Lamb was being kind to his quarterback because that throw was much worse than subpar.
Lamb and Prescott have had public disputes in the past that caused the media to speculate about tension within their relationship. But this speculation from Collinsworth seemed more like much ado about nothing.