FRISCO, Texas — CeeDee Lamb said Thursday that the artificial turf at MetLife Stadium “sucks,” three days before the Dallas Cowboys open the season there against the New York Giants. Kickoff is 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
Lamb is in his seventh season, and Dallas has played at MetLife against the Giants every year since it drafted him in 2020.
“I don’t want to hear that right now,” Lamb said. “With all due respect. But, yeah, I’ve been playing on it for seven years, and God forbid nothing happens this Sunday. But, yeah, it sucks. But at the end of the day, they’re not going to change it. They’re not going to do anything about it.
“I could sit up here and give you the greatest clip of words on how I feel about turf, and I know I don’t really like wasting my voice,” Lamb continued. “But you got to prepare, man. Prepare the right way. Get your cleats settled in and go out there and rock out.”
MetLife Stadium Turf Complaints Before Cowboys-Giants Opener
The Giants and the New York Jets share MetLife, which switched to a FieldTurf Core surface before the 2023 season, CBS Sports reported at the time. On Sept. 11, 2023, Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon there in his first game with the Jets.
Last season, Giants receiver Malik Nabers tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee on Sept. 28 in a home game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Two weeks earlier, he had caught nine passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-37 loss at Dallas. Nabers has been a full participant in practice this week. The day after that injury, Odell Beckham Jr. called the stadium “DeathLife” in a post on X. Beckham is back with the Giants this season.
MetLife put down natural grass for the FIFA World Cup this summer, a tournament requirement, and hosted the final July 19.
Not shooting themselves in the foot is the most important thing for the Cowboys on Sunday, in Lamb’s view.
“It’s going to be important for us as a team, us as a unit and for what we stand for and what we’re trying to believe as far as what we want to achieve,” Lamb explained. “So I feel like coming out, just not shooting ourselves in the foot, I feel like that’s the most important thing. Everything else will play out. We’ll go out and make routine plays.
“We play complementary football, and we’ll let the rest take care of itself,” Lamb added. “The stage is already set, so there’s nothing really much we can do about that but go out there and show out.”
CeeDee Lamb Enters Seventh Season After Five Straight Pro Bowls
Lamb was the 17th overall pick out of Oklahoma. In 2023, he led the NFL with 135 catches and was a first-team All-Pro. He signed a four-year, $136 million extension in August 2024. Through six seasons, he has 571 catches for 7,416 yards and 41 touchdowns in 95 regular-season games, according to Pro Football Reference.
In 2025, Lamb caught 75 passes for 1,077 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games. He did not play in Weeks 4 through 6 and was named to his fifth straight Pro Bowl. George Pickens led the Cowboys with 1,423 receiving yards.
“Mentally, physically, and emotionally, I’m in a better space than I was last year,” Lamb said.
Lamb had nine catches for 112 yards in that Week 2 win over New York. Dallas’ last trip to MetLife came in the regular-season finale on Jan. 4. The Giants won 34-17, and Lamb caught one pass for 4 yards. Dak Prescott went 7-of-11 for 70 yards before Joe Milton III replaced him at halftime.
The Cowboys finished 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
