Like most of the Dallas Cowboys' notable names, CeeDee Lamb didn't suit up for the team's preseason opener.
Nonetheless, Lamb took a big hit and drew a penalty flag in Dallas' loss to the host Los Angeles Rams on Saturday.
Lamb, turning his back to the action, held up his left hand to celebrate a long pass from quarterback Joe Milton III to Jonathan Mingo. A sprinting sideline official collided with the Pro Bowl wide receiver in a dubious scene.
"It's a sideline interference," referee Alex Moore said in the pool report to the L.A. Times' Gary Klein. "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. That's what happened. And with that contact, it's an automatic foul."
Adding proverbial insult to what hopefully wasn't an injury for the Cowboys star wide receiver was a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for contacting the official.
"It's more of a rare situation," Moore said. "Normally we don't have anybody standing that deep into the restricted area, or that type of forceful contact. So, it is a rare occurrence, but it does happen from time to time."
The play would've resulted in a 51-yard gain off a pass interference call, but shaved off some yardage in between downs.
Having put up four straight 1,000-yard seasons, Lamb isn't accustomed to watching the Cowboys offense from the sidelines. It showed on Saturday.
