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          CeeDee Lamb puts Cowboys ahead of Patriots with his first TD of 2023

          • Todd Archer, ESPN Staff WriterOct 1, 2023, 05:15 PM ET
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              Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010. You can follow him on Twitter at @toddarcher.
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          ARLINGTON, Texas - The Dallas Cowboys wide receivers finally have a touchdown catch and they were this-close to a red-zone touchdown. Either way, the Cowboys will take a 10-3 lead after two possessions.

          CeeDee Lamb was on the receiving end of a perfectly floated pass down the sideline from Dak Prescott, away from New England Patriots defensive back Myles Bryant with 1:30 left in the first quarter. What made the play even better was the Cowboys' decision to go after Bryant, who was filling in for an injured Christian Gonzalez.

          On the first drive, Gonzalez followed Lamb inside the red zone, but he was unavailable on the next drive because Gonzalez was forced out of the game with an injury after tackling Tony Pollard. Prescott wasted little time going to his No. 1 receiver, who lined up wide in the three tight end set that had the Patriots thinking run on second down.

          Since the play was snapped from the 20, it was not considered a red-zone score. The Cowboys have struggled inside the opponents' 20 the last two games, converting on just three of their last 11 trips against the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals.

          They failed to score a touchdown in their first trip inside the Patriots' 20 Sunday when Pollard ran into Prescott on the snap.

          For Lamb, it was his third touchdown against New England in two games. He had nine catches for 149 yards and two scores, including the game-winner, against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 17, 2021.