Against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday, Dallas Cowboys pass-catcher CeeDee Lamb had a golden opportunity to help those who have been arguing during the past few offseasons that he is a better wide receiver than Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings.
But Lamb let that opportunity literally slip right through his hands.
The Cowboys receiver finished his night with seven catches for 110 yards, but his numbers could have been even better if he hadn't had a whopping four drops in the matchup.
Two of Lamb's drops came during Dallas's final offensive drive of the game when they were trailing the Eagles by four points. Both passes were deep targets to him that could have easily altered the result of the game, but instead, the Cowboys and their No. 1 receiver left the field with a loss on Thursday.
CeeDee Lamb's Week 1 performance for Dallas Cowboys further proves Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is still the better pass-catcher
Any argument about Lamb being a superior receiver to Jefferson officially went out the door after Thursday's game.
Many Vikings fans watching the Cowboys receiver drop multiple passes down the stretch had the same thought:
"Jefferson would've caught that."
We've seen Jefferson make clutch catch after clutch catch during his career in Minnesota.
From his game-sealing touchdown reception against the Seattle Seahawks last season to his insane 4th-and-18 catch (with only one hand) in the fourth quarter of a win over the Buffalo Bills back in 2022, the Vikings superstar has come up with huge receptions when his team has needed him the most time after time after time.
During Jefferson's career with Minnesota, he's had a drop rate of just 2.7 percent. A Jefferson drop is something that just doesn't happen very often.
The same can't be said for Lamb, who has a drop rate of 4.9 percent during his career. It's not an egregious drop rate, but it's just more evidence in support of Jefferson being the better receiver.
There's no need to get crazy and claim that Lamb isn't a good wide receiver or anything like that. But any comparisons to Jefferson need to stop after what happened during Thursday's game.