George Pickens has been dominant with the Dallas Cowboys this season, but the star wide receiver got first-hand look at Thursday at some of the unexpected challenges a player can face while playing at “Jerry World.”
Pickens had 6 catches for 88 yards in the Cowboys’ 31-28 Thanksgiving Day win over the Kansas City Chiefs. He should have had an even bigger day, but he was unable to come down with one perfectly thrown ball from Dak Prescott because of the infamous sun issue at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Pickens was wide open for what should have been a sizable gain on first down when the Cowboys had the ball in Kansas City territory early in the second quarter. He never saw the ball, however, because he was right at the spot on the field where the sun meets the shade.
Jerry Jones genius stadium design strikes again pic.twitter.com/1jbNpQwdT8
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When asked about the play after the game, Pickens confirmed that he lost the ball in the sun that shines through the glass windows at the west end of AT&T Stadium. He said he had been warned about that but had yet to experience it.
“It definitely did. Some of the guys told me, too. That was my first time having that,” Pickens said, according to The Associate Press. “Just coming on the crossing route, the sun was beating in my eyes, so I couldn’t see. But made up for it.”
Cowboys star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb had a similar issue last year that cost him and the team a touchdown reception (video here). That led to renewed calls for Jerry Jones to fix the sunlight issue, but the Cowboys owner insists the stadium design is an advantage for the home team.
Many players obviously disagree. Lamb has said he would love for Jones to have some sort of curtain installed to block the sun. Pickens agrees.
“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.”
The Cowboys settled for a field goal on the drive where Pickens lost the ball in the sun. Had he caught the pass, Dallas would have had a much better chance of scoring a touchdown.
Fortunately for Jones, the Cowboys won the game. If a situation ever were to arise where the sunlight was a direct factor in a Dallas loss, fans would be outraged.
