EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – There is indeed such a thing as a bounceback play, but what CeeDee Lamb was able to produce to lift the Dallas Cowboys over the New York Giants actually involved an entire trampoline.

After the loss to the Baltimore Ravens, he received a lot of criticism from outside the building about the optics of his expressions of frustration, after which he went quiet for a few days to collect his thoughts – his questions and answers with the media. the All-Pro receiver who takes responsibility and promises things “will get better.”

“There’s definitely more joy here,” he said after the 20-15 win, in which he grabbed seven catches on eight targets for 98 yards and a touchdown. “I mean, you lose two in a row and you start to go through a phase where everyone is a little tense; and you’re ready to play again and end it. It was good for us… ( this ) was the one we needed.

“The division play put us in the right place.”

It puts the Cowboys on a much more stable footing at 2-2 as the calendar turns to October, while the currently undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers wait on the other side of the mini-bye week.

And while Lamb still feels like the Cowboys’ offense left some meat on the bone in the second half after scoring both first-half touchdowns and failing to find any paychecks in the final two quarters, the chemistry between he and Dak Prescott looked as sharp as ever.

The miscues against the Ravens seemingly served as a learning tool.

“Man, I’m just sticking to my guns, and again, I believe in the person that I am and the player that I am,” Lamb said, adding his frustrations about Week 3 stemmed from disappointment in himself. “I have the utmost belief in myself and my abilities and my talent, and so do the coaches. Everything that happened last game was not personal.

“My will is to win, and I love to win. I hate to lose.”

Lamb also got involved in the rushing attack and while that aspect of his game wasn’t as productive this week as in recent weeks, he never misses an opportunity to get the ball in his hands – everyone on the planet knows what he can do doing. as soon as he gets it.

“Whatever it takes,” he said. “Whatever it takes. I’m grateful for the opportunity, happy to do what I love and ultimately come out with a win again.”

The Cowboys will still need a lot of refinement going forward, but after what they’ve been through over the past two weeks, Lamb and Co. are looking. not like a gift horse in the mouth.

And especially when none of the victory was a gift in the first place.