It was already clear by the way Week 3’s loss to the Chicago Bears went, that the Dallas Cowboys’ 2025 NFL season was in serious trouble. Now, the outlook looks even bleaker.

According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is expected to miss three to four weeks due to a high ankle sprain. This despite the receiver’s postgame comments, which included him telling reporters he “absolutely” felt like he could play Week 4.

Losing Lamb is the toughest blow the Cowboys could suffer outside of losing quarterback Dak Prescott. The defense is playing bad and it’s looking like Dallas will need to score over 30 points if they want a shot at winning ballgames. That appeared doable with the way Prescott and Lamb were playing in the first two weeks of the season minus the drops. Now, the offense needs other answers.

Now, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer is tasked with overcoming such adversity. But on Monday’s press conference, he made a simple but important remark about the team’s chances of succeeding without Lamb: Players will need to step up.

“Guys have to step up,” Schottenheimer told reporters. “That’s a big part of it. I think we’re very fortunate to still have a guy like (wide receiver George Pickens). I think you saw (wide receiver KaVontae Turpin) step up and make some plays. I think (tight end) Jake Ferguson had an amazing game.”

The message is relevant because when it comes to losing a player like No. 88, scheme helps but it’s simply not enough unless someone raises the bar of his own play.

Schottenheimer is understandably confident in Pickens stepping up as WR1. After all, he played the part for years at Pittsburgh. However, it will be about players beyond him, too. After all, defenses are likely to double Pickens like they did Lamb before.

The Cowboys offense was just getting used to having someone who could capitalize off of that in Pickens. Now, it’s Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin that need to consistently win with Pickens drawing the defense’s attention for this offense to be efficient.

Now, don’t think Schottenheimer is passing the buck to players. He added the coaching staff needs to be better all around. His play-calling will have to be on point for the offense to overcome Lamb’s absence.

“This isn’t going to be the only adversity we face this year,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s what we signed up for. It takes tough S.O.B.s to play and coach in this business.”