Why couldn’t CeeDee Lamb see the ball at AT&T Stadium? The National Weather Service explains
There was plenty of discourse after the Dallas Cowboys’ 34-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, including complaining about the sun.
Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush threw a probable touchdown pass to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in the west end zone went uncaught. Immediately after the play, Lamb gestured that he lost the ball in the bright sun glare courtesy of AT&T Stadium’s large windows.
In a post-game interview, Lamb confirmed the sun interference and said he favors putting up curtains on the stadium’s windows.
“Yes, one thousand percent,” Lamb said. “Couldn’t see the ball, couldn’t see the ball at all.”
The blinding sun glare has caused many problems for the Cowboys since the stadium opened in 2009.
Cowboys receiver Cedrick Wilson lost a ball in the glare during the team’s 23-17 wildcard loss to the San Francisco 49ers in 2022. That same year, receiver Michael Gallup was burdened by the sun during a Christmas Eve game against the Eagles.
Why is the sun glare so intense inside AT&T Stadium? The Star-Telegram spoke with the National Weather Service Fort Worth to find an answer.
Why does AT&T Stadium have a sun problem?
NWS meteorologist Patricia Sánchez said it’s a combination of time, angle, and perspective.
The sun is appearing lower on the horizon as the days continue to shorten ahead of the winter solstice on Dec. 21. The North Pole is tilted about 23.4 degrees away from the sun during the solstice, which is why Dec. 21 will have the shortest day and longest night of the year.
This plays into how the sun is setting earlier each day, Sánchez said.
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, sunset occurred at 5:31 p.m. on Nov. 10 in Arlington. Flash forward to the Cowboys’ next home game on Nov. 18, where sunset is expected to occur at 5:26 p.m.
Earlier in the season, sunset typically occurs at 7 p.m., so the glare might impact games on Sunday or Monday nights, Sánchez said. But as the season and year go on, the days get shorter, and sunsets occur earlier.
Essentially, the stadium is seeing glare during these mid-afternoon games because that’s when sunset is nearing, Sánchez said.
After all, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. AT&T Stadium is built from southwest to northeast.
The Cowboys have one final mid-afternoon game left this season on Thanksgiving Day against the New York Giants. The Old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting sunset to occur around 5:23 p.m. that day.
