'Extend That 88!' Michael Irvin Sees CeeDee Lamb as Dallas Cowboys' Super Bowl MVP
Eighters gonna eight.
No one in DFW is happier to see Michael Irvin's Dallas Cowboys franchise records fall than Irvin himself, praising his "88 Club" cohort alongside Dez Bryant and Drew Pearson in a discussion with Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
"He’s extended that 88,” Irvin said. “That is how we see it. That is what we talk about all the time on our group text. Go extend that 88 legacy. That is what Drew told me. I’m happier for him than he is for him."
The famed "88 Club" holds a special place in Dallas lore, worn by some of the most illustrious offensive faces in franchise history. Lamb is only adding to the legacy with what's likely the most accomplished season in Cowboys franchise history: after the recently-wrapped 2023 regular season, he now holds the team's single-season records for receptions (135) and yardage (1,749), passing Irvin in both departments. Lamb also scored 12 touchdowns but that mark is still held by Bryan, who scored 16 in 2014.
All that Lamb's missing is the elusive championship ring: a member of the 88 Club has been on all but one of the Cowboys' five Super Bowl-winning teams, as Pearson partook in the 1977 victory over Denver while Irvin was on the three teams that prevailed between 1992 and 1995.
"What I want is this year to finish like my year. Now that will be the greatest glory," Irvin said. "I hit him the other night on our group text and said ‘the great seer saw you taking 88 to great heights, new heights, heights never seen before, heights like Super Bowl MVP’, Irvin said. “He said he is going to try to go manifest that.”
Irvin's record-breaking season was the prelude to Dallas' most recent championship run, culminating in a 27-17 victory over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XXX. The veteran picked up 185 yards on 13 receptions, three of which went for scores.
Lamb's playoff journey begins on Sunday afternoon against the Green Bay Packers (3:30 p.m. CT, Fox), a common foe for the 88 Club. En route to the 30th Super Bowl, Irvin put up 100 yards and two scores against the Packers in the NFC title game at Texas Stadium. Two years prior, he opened another Dallas Super Bowl run with 126 yards in a Divisional round victory that downed the green and yellow. Bryant, on the other hand, was a victim of what's viewed as one of the most unrightfully egregious flipped calls in recent playoff memory back in the 2015 Divisional round.
Irvin believes that a memorable playoff run will officially cement his stats among the club. As it stands, Irvin is well pleased with the way Lamb has lived up to the reputation of the famed double digits.
"He liked No. 2," Irvin recalled from his first conversation with Lamb. "I said ‘You can wear No. 2 but when you put 88 on you are given hope to a whole nation, Cowboys nation’. I said, ‘if you’re not prepared to do that, then don’t grab that number’."
“He grabbed that number and delivered. He is like Tyreek. Right, he is the damn system, it's not just the passing game. you’re a whole system. None of us ever did that."
“Now go win a title.”
