The Cowboys dominated the Browns in every phase, with two offensive touchdowns, one special teams touchdown, four field goals and a defense that produced six sacks and two takeaways. It was an ugly home game for the Browns.
The Cowboys won 33-17, making a statement after a season break full of questions and fears.
The Browns offense, missing both offensive tackles, was no match for Mike Zimmer’s defense. Cleveland had just one first down, 22 plays and 54 yards in the first half and finished the game with 70 plays for 230 yards and 15 first downs for an average gain of 3.3 yards.
Eric Kendricks, the Cowboys’ big free agent addition this offseason, had nine tackles, two sacks and an interception, making him the team’s best player. DeMarcus Lawrence also had two sacks and Micah Parsons had a sack, a deflected pass that led to Kendricks’ pick and five quarterback hits.
Trevon Diggs intercepted a pass in his first game back after suffering a torn ACL early last season, and DeMarvion Overshown had a sack in his first regular-season game after missing his entire rookie season with a torn ACL.
Deshaun Watson completed 24 of 45 passes for 169 yards, scoring one touchdown and two interceptions, and former Cowboy Amari Cooper had just two catches for 16 yards. David Njoku, who caught four passes for 44 yards, left the field in the second half with an ankle injury.
Dak Prescott completed 19 of 32 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown after agreeing to a record-breaking contract extension earlier in the day. CeeDee Lamb caught five passes for 61 yards after missing the entire offseason and training camp while pursuing a contract extension he signed two weeks ago.
KaVontae Turpin scored a 60-yard touchdown on a punt early in the second half, his first career touchdown return, and Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 57, 40, 50 and 46 yards. He made a record-setting 66-yard field goal attempt at the end of the first half that was nullified by a delay of game, and the Cowboys didn’t let him attempt a 71-yard throw.
But all day long it was all about the cowboys.
