When the Dallas Cowboys offense took the field for the first offensive drive on Monday Night Football against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11, fans were quick to notice that they were without starting wide receivers Ceedee Lamb and George Pickens, who remained on the bench.
Dallas’ PR shared information about the decision with sideline reporter Lisa Salters, who informed the Monday Night broadcast that head coach Brian Schottenheimer was the one who held the star wideouts out. Now, one reporter claims to know the reason why.
Reporter Claims Ceedee Lamb and George Pickens Broke Curfew
While they might have missed the first drive, they surely made up for it in a hurry, helping the Cowboys dominate the Raiders on Monday Night Football. Pickens showed out with nine receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown, while Lamb snagged five passes for 66 yards and a touchdown.
According to FOX Sports Radio and CFO Sports host Jordan Michael Tucker, “Sin City” got the best of Lamb and Pickens as he explained on X, “Fine: Ceedee and Pickens got caught out last night in Vegas. Broke curfew and got caught; they are all on camera in the lobby. Schotty disciplined them as he should.”
Fine: Ceedee and Pickens was out last night in Vegas broke curfew got caught they all on camera in the lobby Schotty disciplined them as he should
— J Tuck (@jtuck151) November 18, 2025
This follows the rumors that the decision to hold off on Lamb and Pickens in the opening drive was due to a matter of attendance. NFL insider Nick Harris also shared, “It was a coach’s decision to have Cowboys WRs CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens miss the first series. It was not injury-related. As it was communicated to me, ‘they missed some things.'”
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Heading into Week 11, Lamb had 35 grabs for 491 yards and one score. On the other hand, Pickens had 49 catches for 764 yards and six touchdowns.
The Cowboys’ offense is ranked fourth-best in the league according to PFSN’s Offense Impact metric. Pickens has been a massive addition to the Cowboys team, helping to fill the evident void at WR2 next to Lamb, as he has thrived with Dallas in 2025.
While nothing is confirmed, fans waited for the postgame press conferences from Schottenheimer, as he is undoubtedly going to be asked and give some sort of explanation for why his top two receivers were absent during the team’s first drive.
Unfortunately, Schottenheimer did not provide any specific details behind the decision. “Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said there were “a couple things missed” that led to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens not playing on the first series. Nothing beyond that,” wrote Jon Machota on X.
