CLEVELAND – A Dallas Cowboys team energized by Dak Prescott’s contract extension raced to an early lead against the Cleveland Browns in their season opener.
With contributions from a Prescott-led offense, a sack-happy defense and a touchdown-scoring special teams unit, the Cowboys never lost their hold even as Cleveland’s defensive front reminded the league how much firepower it can unleash.
Dallas won 33-17, its second consecutive year opening the season with a blowout. But a 16-point road victory against the stingiest defense from 2023 will and should mean more than Dallas confounding the New York Giants Week 1 last year.
Beating playoff-caliber opponents in unfamiliar territory is what the Cowboys will need to do if they want to finally snap their decades-long deep postseason drought.
It’s with those types of lofty goals in mind that the Cowboys agreed to pay Prescott $60 million per year on his extension – and it’s in that vein that the Cowboys will view their win against the Browns.
Prescott rebounded well from a penalty and sack-ridden first series, finding receiver CeeDee Lamb down the right sideline for 34 yards on Dallas’ second drive, en route to a 21-yard touchdown connection with receiver Brandin Cooks to the left.
The Browns’ defensive front found Prescott periodically as the Cowboys started two rookie offensive linemen, including first-round left tackle Tyler Guyton. But between sacks from Dalvin Tomlinson, Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith, Prescott connected with targets up the seams and down the sidelines, completing 19-of-32 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott contributed 49 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in his return after a year in New England.
And perhaps the Cowboys’ most consistent game-changing weapon: kicker Brandon Aubrey connecting on field goals from 57, 50, 46 and 40 yards in addition to his three successful extra-point attempts.
The Browns struggled to find success against the Dallas defense newly coordinated by Mike Zimmer. Cleveland netted just a single first-half first down compared to the Cowboys’ 13, as the Browns played without either of their starting offensive tackles and without running back Nick Chubb, who remains on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from surgeries to ACL and MCL tears.
The Browns found rhythm on one third-quarter drive in which Watson hit tight end David Njoku and receivers Jerry Jeudy and Amari Cooper for double-digit balls before ultimately tossing Jeudy the receiver’s first touchdown in a Cleveland uniform.
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But consistent pressure didn’t help a Browns team hoping to better feature Watson’s run-pass option ability and drop-back passing in offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey’s debut (while head coach Kevin Stefanski continues to call plays). Watson had some throws that hinted at potential, but too often threw out of bounds or behind receivers, at times seemingly on different pages than his receivers running option routes.
Watson finished the day 24 of 45 for 169 yards and a touchdown as he absorbed six sacks, fumbled (left guard Joel Bitonio recovered) and threw two intercepted passes, including a fourth-quarter ball that sailed through Jeudy’s hands and into the diving grasp of cornerback Trevon Diggs in his return from an ACL tear.
Watson and Cooper were particularly out of sync, a missed deep connection in the final five minutes of the clock their latest whiff on a 2-of-9 day for the pair.
The Cowboys offense stalled more often in the second half, settling for two field goals and three punts. But Dallas did not turn the ball over, which was what a team with a reliable kicker and feisty defense needed.
The Cowboys will play next week’s home opener against the New Orleans Saints, who ran up the score 47-10 on the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
The Browns travel to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who blew a lead against the Miami Dolphins this week.