The Dallas Cowboys’ season took another gut punch Sunday as they fell to a frustrating 3-6 after a home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, extending a painful five-game losing streak at AT&T Stadium. The game marked a new chapter for the Cowboys without Dak Prescott, who’s now out for the season following hamstring surgery. Cooper Rush took on the starting QB role, but a glaring (literally) problem marred the afternoon and added insult to injury.
During a key moment of the game, a would-be touchdown slipped through the fingers of star receiver CeeDee Lamb, thanks to a glaring sunbeam shining through AT&T Stadium’s massive windows, blinding him in the end zone. With Rush’s pass on target, Lamb’s miss was a major letdown for a team desperate for points.
When asked if anything could be done to manage the blinding sunlight at home games, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was quick to shut down the idea. “By the way, we know where the sun is going to be when we decide to flip the coin or not. We do know where the damn sun is going to be in our own stadium,” he said, shrugging off any criticism about the stadium’s design. When further pressed on potential solutions, Jones snapped, “Well, let’s tear the damn stadium down and build another one? Are you kidding me?”
Jones seemed unmoved, dismissing the sun as an issue teams simply have to live with. “Everybody has got the same thing. Every team that comes in here has the same issues. The world knows where the sun is.”
Lamb, on the other hand, saw things differently. Visibly frustrated, he acknowledged how the sun affected his vision on the field and voiced strong support for a remedy, saying, “Yes, one thousand percent,” when asked about installing curtains. “Couldn’t see the ball. Couldn’t see the ball at all. The sun.”
The Cowboys, now winless at home this season, head back to AT&T Stadium next Monday night to face the Houston Texans, hoping for a change in fortune—and maybe a bit less sunlight in the end zone.
