The NFL kickoff had everything you could possibly want and all within the first few minutes. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears got to sit back and enjoy the action while eventually preparing to take on both of those teams later in the year.
One of those teams, the Dallas Cowboys, will see Chicago much sooner than the other (Philly). The Bears take on Dallas in a Week 3 home tilt featured on the schedule's late afternoon window. And, for Bears fans who watched the Eagles and Cowboys on Thursday night, some might have been given the impression that their impending matchup might have gotten easier.
No, we're not talking about a lack of Micah Parsons in Dallas. Rather, the Cowboys saw an alarming development take place over the course of the game: wide receiver CeeDee Lamb did not look like himself.
On the night, Lamb dropped a whopping four passes, which is not what we're used to seeing from him.
CeeDee Lamb will still present major problems to Jaylon Johnson and the Bears
Looking at Dallas' offense, as a whole, they definitely have some weapons Chicago should be wary of. Lamb is one of the top wideouts in the game today, and he dropped seven passes all last season. While seven drops isn't necessarily great, it also isn't atop the leaderboard.
Everything about Lamb, as an elite wide receiver, tells us the Bears shouldn't count on a repeat performance. Dropping four balls in a game, and two on the final drive, is nothing more than an anomaly for a player of his caliber. This is a guy who has caught over 340 passes the last three years, combined.
This could have been any elite wide receiver, and you'd better believe they'll watch the tape with disgust while preparing for a monstrous outing the following week. While the Bears don't play Dallas in Week 2, they'll face off just a week later.
Lamb's presence might also make the Bears have to worry about their wild card in George Pickens. Will Tyrique Stevenson be able to keep up (and keep his cool) against Pickens? That could be the matchup we're all watching, in the end, rather than focusing on Lamb going up against the likes of Johnson at times.
If you take out Lamb's drops and instead make even half of them catches, the Cowboys very well coudl have won that game -- over the defending Super Bowl champions. The Bears fans are not in the clear, here. Dallas came out swinging and played much better than anyone could have predicted, especially without Parsons.
Read more: It took one game for Cowboys to learn what Bears fans knew about Matt Eberflus
This might be your typical cliché moment, but the Bears cannot afford to take the Cowboys lightly when they clash in a couple of weeks.