Eagles analysis

Bradley Roby excited for huge task of slowing down CeeDee Lamb

The Eagles will have to try to slow down CeeDee Lamb on Sunday, which is a huge opportunity for veteran Bradley Roby.

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It’s not about stopping CeeDee Lamb. It’s about slowing him down.

Because the Cowboys do everything in their power to get their No. 1 weapon the ball. We saw it the last time the Eagles played their division rival, we saw it last week when Lamb got 17 targets and we’ve seen in throughout Lamb’s four-year career.

But these are the kinds of opportunities Bradley Roby relishes.

“Hell yeah,” Roby said this week. “I told coach at practice, ‘I need some more rocks at practice, man.’ Because it’s just about playing football. It’s about making plays and making more plays than you give up. I love opportunities like this. I look forward to games like this. 

“This is what it’s all about. This is football at the highest level. Cowboys vs. Eagles, playoffs on the line, No. 1 seed on the line, all this type of stuff. This is what you want to play for.”

While the Eagles pulled off a 28-23 win at home over the Cowboys back in Week 9, Lamb was targeted 16 times (now the second most targets in his career) and caught 11 passes for 191 yards. He did a lot of that damage out of the slot, where he plays about 57% of his snaps.

But Roby wasn’t healthy for that game. He was out with a shoulder injury.

So it’ll be fascinating so see how much the 31-year-old veteran nickel corner will be matched up against Lamb on Sunday Night Football and how much he’s able to slow down one of the best receivers in the NFL.

One thing is for sure. It figures to be a busy night for Roby at AT&T Stadium.

“They’re doing a great job of making sure he touches the ball,” Roby said. “He’s a great athlete, he’s long, he has good speed, he’s also quick. He has good hands, he’s a little slippery. He’s one of the top receivers out there. 

“I feel like this year they’re making sure there’s a big emphasis on getting him the ball kind of like the Bills with getting Stefon (Diggs) the ball. When you have top guys, you want to make sure you do that. You don’t want to have games where they don’t touch the ball.”

Through 13 weeks of the season, Lamb has been targeted 121 times, which ranks fifth in the NFL behind just Keenan Allen (138), Tyreek Hill (127), Michael Pittman Jr. (127) and Ja’Marr Chase (124).

Since he entered the NFL as a first-round pick in 2020, Lamb has been targeted 508 times and he’s coming off a career-high 17-target game against the Seahawks last Thursday.

Lamb this season has 90 catches for 1,182 yards and 7 touchdowns in 12 games. He’s well on his way to a third consecutive Pro Bowl nod and is on pace to have the best season of his four-year career.

In 12 games this season, Lamb has gone over 100 receiving yards six times, including last week against the Seahawks and in Week 9 against the Eagles.

While Roby will be a big part of the defensive plan against Lamb this weekend, it’s really a group effort. When Lamb is outside, he’ll face off against Darius Slay and James Bradberry. And on pretty much every snap, the Eagles’ safeties will have to know where Lamb is.

“Yeah, they’re going to throw it to him,” Roby said. “They’re going to throw screens, they’re going to do jet sweeps, run the ball. You can’t look at it like, ‘Ah, he’s not going to get any catches.’ No, they’re going to make sure he touches the ball. So it’s really more about winning when it counts and limiting the run after the catch and just competing and not just giving free ability to do anything.”

Roby brought up the fact that it’s not just all Lamb and that’s a fair point. Brandin Cooks, who was teammates with Roby in Houston, is starting to get more opportunities. The 30-year-old has had four of his top five performances of the season in the last four weeks. And Cooks went off for 173 yards and a touchdown against the Giants on Nov. 12.

And then there’s tight end Jake Ferguson, who had a career performance the last time these teams met, and Michael Gallup and Tony Pollard. This is the No. 1 scoring team in the NFL with the league’s No. 5-ranked offense.

The Eagles can’t afford to sleep on anyone.

But for the Cowboys, it all starts with Lamb. And for the Eagles, it all starts with trying to slow him down.

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