ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Here comes the sun again at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
George Pickens was open but the Cowboys receiver never saw the pass thrown his way by Dak Prescott early in the second quarter of their 31-28 win over Kansas City on Thanksgiving Day.
The ball landed a few feet in front of Pickens inside the 20-yard line, and the receiver threw out his hands indicating he never saw it, then shaded his eyes when looking back to the west
end of the stadium — and directly into the sun.
“He already knew it. Welcome to Dallas, bro,” said fellow receiver CeeDee Lamb, who had a similar play just more than a year ago.
“It definitely did. Some of the guys told me, too. That was my first time having that,” Pickens said. “Just coming on the crossing route, the sun was beating in my eyes, so I couldn’t see. But made up for it.”
Pickens caught six passes for 88 yards and Lamb, just four days after being hampered by some drops in a comeback win over Philadelphia, had seven catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes later in the second quarter was looking downfield into the bright rays after scrambling to his right from the shade to a wide sliver of shining sun. Rashee Rice appeared open in the middle of the field before the quarterback was sacked from behind by Jadeveon Clowney for a 7-yard loss, though Mahomes downplayed any issue with the sun.
“It's just when you play some games. ... I played baseball growing up, the sun's part of it,” Mahomes said. “Just got to find those guys whenever you're scrambling, and make those throws.”
Still, this was not the first time play has been impacted by the sun shining through the huge glass doors at the west end of AT&T Stadium.
The stadium has an unusual east-west alignment from end zone to end zone, as opposed to most venues being north-south. So on clear days, such as Thursday, the sun shines through the west-end windows during portions of games that kick off later in the afternoon.
In a 34-6 loss to Philadelphia last November, Pro Bowl receiver Lamb lost a ball in the sun on an incompletion that helped keep Dallas from scoring a go-ahead touchdown in the first half. Lamb was open on a crossing route in the end zone when a throw from Cooper Rush went behind him and he never adjusted to the ball.
In a 23-17 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers in January 2022, a pass whizzed by the head of open Dallas receiver Cedrick Wilson, who apparently never saw the ball looking back into the sun.
Cowboys billionaire owner Jerry Jones has flatly rejected numerous suggestions that the team should put up curtains at that end of the $1.2 billion stadium during games, even though they are used for some concerts and other events.
When asked after last year's loss to the Eagles if curtains should be put up, Lamb responded, “Yes. One thousand percent.”
Pickens agreed Thursday.
“Yeah, I mean, definitely. But that’s up to Jerry. But definitely curtains would help,” Pickens said. “I really couldn’t see the ball. It was the sun. Like I said, I always bounce back. Kind of like CeeDee bounced back from last week to this week. All you can do is just one foot forward, keep getting better.”
Prescott’s pass on first down intended for Pickens, right after a 10-yard pass to convert fourth-and-4, was potentially a four-point swing. Instead of moving closer to maybe a touchdown, the Cowboys settled for Brandon Aubrey’s 49-yard field goal to get within 14-10.
Kansas City won the opening coin toss, and when Dallas elected to receive, the Chiefs opted to defend the west end zone — the one going into the sun.
There were no issues after halftime because the sun was setting by then.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
