Why Was George Pickens Benched vs. Raiders? Cowboys' Stephen Jones Provides Answer

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens was benched for the first series of his team's 33-16 road win over the Las Vegas Raiders last Monday because he missed the team bus to Allegiant Stadium on the day of the game, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Friday (h/t ESPN).

Fellow Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was also benched for the first series for missing the team's 10 p.m. ET curfew the night before. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer ultimately made the decisions.

"He's not going to play favorites with anybody," Jones said regarding Schottenheimer to The Fan. "He felt very strongly [about] that, that was part of it. I think a lot of people thought they had to be together because they are great friends, but believe it or not, one was of the night before leading into the morning, and the other one was missing the buses."

Cowboys writer Clarence Hill Jr., who covers the team for All City DLLS, said he witnessed Pickens missing the bus in person on Monday night:

The Cowboys added Pickens via trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers for a third-round pick last offseason. Pickens is in the final year of his four-year rookie deal, and he's certainly excelling ahead of free agency with 58 receptions for 908 yards and seven touchdowns through 10 games. He's already hit his career-high for touchdowns and is well on pace for career bests across the board.

▶️ Full Cowboys-Raiders Recap

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As for the game, that first series without Lamb and Pickens ended with a three-and-out, but the Dallas offense largely caught fire from there, with quarterback Dak Prescott firing four touchdown passes, including three in the third quarter. He found Lamb and Pickens for touchdowns. Pickens finished with nine receptions for 144 yards as well.

The 4-5-1 Cowboys will now look to move to .500 when they host the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon at 4:25 p.m. ET.