Referee explains sideline collision with Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb: ‘It’s more of a rare situation’

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer rested a number of proven, key contributors Saturday night in the team’s preseason opener at the Los Angeles Rams. Players like three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott and two-time All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. Players who don’t have anything to prove by lighting it up against backups. 

However, Lamb still ended up being on the receiving end of one of the most violent hits of the night despite being in a hat, t-shirt and sweatpants on the sideline. He ended up being penalized for “a foul against an official” that officially went down as an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty while watching Dallas’ offense. Lamb began to celebrate Cowboys wide receiver Jonathan Mingo breaking wide open and beyond the Rams’ secondary defenders. Lamb’s celebration led him to the thickly-painted, white portion of the sideline where Lamb put his hand up and turned his back to everyone but Mingo flying downfield. An official was sprinting down the thick white portion of the sideline to keep up with the play, and he was so locked in on the action that he didn’t notice Lamb until it was too late. Both of them went flying when the official smacked into Lamb’s back on the tail end of the sequence. 

“It’s sideline interference. CeeDee Lamb was standing in the restricted white border area, which is our area to officiate the game. The official on the play was focused solely on doing his job, and he ran into CeeDee Lamb, who was standing in that restricted area,” referee Alex Moore said postgame via a pool report. “That’s what happened. And with that contact, it’s an automatic foul.”  

Moore confirmed the situation between Lamb and the official isn’t a regular one, but Dallas’ current No. 88 isn’t the first player to find themselves in this situation. 

“It’s more of a rare situation. Normally we don’t have anybody standing that deep into the restricted area, or that type of forceful contact,” Moore said. “So, it is a rare occurrence, but it does happen from time to time.”  

Neither Schottenheimer nor Lamb argued the call, so all parties were able to move forward conflict free. The only conflict Schottenheimer has going forward is with Lamb and his players committing 11 penalties in their 31-21 preseason-opening defeat. Dallas committed 243 penalties, the second-most in the NFL behind only the New York Jets and their 261, across the last two seasons since 2023 — the last two years of previous head coach Mike McCarthy’s tenure in which Schottenheimer served as the Cowboys’ non-playcalling offensive coordinator. Safe to say playing a more disciplined brand of football is a priority in Year 1 of the Schottenheimer era in 2025. 

“I told the guys ‘hey, we competed hard, but we got to clean some stuff up. We can’t have the penalties, 11 penalties or whatever that was,” Schottenheimer said postgame. … “[Spoke with Lamb] Briefly. We got to be better with discipline, and I think I hope the guy [the official] is OK. I think he’s OK, but we have to do better than that. CeeDee knows better. We know better. … We have to do a better job coaching and playing. … You can’t give away penalties in this league. So we have to be better.”