CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens were benched at the start of the Cowboys' 33-16 win over the Raiders on Monday Night Football in Week 11. After noting that the two star receivers were not in the game on Dallas's first drive, Lisa Salters reported that their absence was "strictly a coach's decision," and it quickly became apparent that the benching was for disciplinary reasons.
While social media is full of rumors as to why Lamb and Pickens were being punished, the team is being tight-lipped. Coach Brian Schottenheimer, for instance, simply said postgame that it was a coach's decision and that "things" were "missed."
Lamb also declined to discuss the situation.
CeeDee Lamb says he’s not going into why he and Pickens weren’t in on the opening series
— Taylor Bisciotti (@TaylorBisciotti) November 18, 2025
The news will presumably leak eventually, but for now, whatever happened in Vegas is staying in Vegas, at least if the Cowboys have anything to say about it.
One thing the Cowboys can't deny is that, once Lamb and Pickens did get in the game, everyone was very happy. Pickens caught nine passes for 144 yards and a touchdown while Lamb had five catches for 66 yards and a score of his own. By halftime, the coach and his players were hugging on the sideline.
With the win, the Cowboys move to 4-5-1 on the season. They're also 4-0-1 when they score more than 27 points, which makes keeping Lamb and Pickens in the lineup very important going forward.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cowboys Coach, Players Decline to Explain Why Cowboys WRs Were Benched vs. Raiders.
