The late afternoon sun is a problem this time of year at AT&T Stadium. Everyone knows it, though Cowboys owner Jerry Jones won’t admit it.
Since moving into their home in Arlington in 2009, the Cowboys have dealt with the glare from the sun shining through the 120-foot-tall sliding-glass doors. Sunday marks the team’s first late-afternoon game at AT&T Stadium this season, so coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked about his players being blinded by the light.
“Well, I’ve been here for a little while, and I’ve heard about it,” Schottenheimer said sarcastically, via Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press. “Hey, look, if you guys could see the process and the plan we have in place to figure it out. We have satellite imaging. We have pictures of the sun, when it’s coming down. There’s a big plan and process. But I think when you look at historically at what’s happened it really hasn’t affected many situations. We plan for it. The opponents plan for it. But at the end of the day, it’s something that we’re aware of. It’s very beautiful. It’s majestic when the sun comes through there.”
The Cowboys’ receivers over the years probably wouldn’t call the sun “majestic.” They likely would have a four-letter word for it.
In a 2017 game against the Chiefs, Cowboys receivers Dez Bryant and Brice Butler both blamed missed catches on the sun’s glare; Cedrick Wilson never saw a pass to him in a 2021 postseason game against the 49ers; Michael Gallup dropped a touchdown pass against the Eagles in 2022 because of the glare; and last season against the Eagles, CeeDee Lamb was wide open in the end zone but “couldn’t see the ball” because he was blinded by the sun.
Lamb said then that curtains should cover the windows during late-afternoon games, prompting Jones to blow up. “Let’s just tear the damn stadium down and build another one. Are you kidding me?” Jones said, dismissing the sun as a factor.
AT&T is one of only two NFL stadiums built on a southwest-northeast axis. It is the only NFL field that has a transparent southwest end zone.
Commanders coach Dan Quinn knows what his team is in for on Sunday as he spent 2021-23 as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator.
“Yeah, this time of year it could come into effect,” Quinn said, via Ben Standig of TheAthletic.com. “You want to make good decisions when you can, regarding where . . . a glare would be. So, yeah, it’s definitely something that as a coach I think about and obviously we’ll talk to the team about. But, yeah, you’re on it.”
