Dallas City News

The Dallas Cowboys are off to a great start after coming away with a nice road win over the Cleveland Browns, 33-17. The offense did some good things, the defense did some great things, and the special teams delivered in a big way. Here are 10 thoughts on the Cowboys’ dominating win over the Browns in the season opener.

1. Zimmer’s defense

It was a little ugly early as many expected a defensive battle, but it was the Cowboys’ defense that controlled the game. The Browns couldn’t get anything going, especially early. Over Cleveland’s first eight drives, they only had one first down and 45 total yards. The Browns scored two second-half touchdowns, but the game was well out of hand. The Cowboys defense finished with six sacks and two takeaways. The Browns were 2/15 on third downs. It was an amazing debut from Zimmer’s squad.

2. Déjà vu

Last year, the Cowboys blew out the New York Giants in the season opener 40-0. It was a dominating performance. The defense did all the heavy lifting as the offense only had 265 total yards and found the end zone twice. The special teams even helped out with a score of their own.

This year’s opener looked eerily similar. A dominating road win with 265 yards of offense, two offensive touchdowns, and a touchdown from the special teams.

3. Good discipline by the rookie offensive linemen

It was expected that things would be a nightmare for the Cowboys offensive line going against reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, but the unit held up pretty well. There were moments when Dak Prescott was under duress and he was sacked three times, but overall, the group did okay considering they were starting two rookies. And even with the whistle-happy officials for the illegal formation penalties, the Cowboys offensive line was only flagged once in this game, and it didn’t come until the fourth quarter when rookie Tyler Guyton got called for a push in the back.

4. A nice debut from the free agents

The Cowboys don’t spend much money in free agency, but they sure manage to get solid contributions from the players they do sign. Veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks had two sacks and an interception in his debut. Ezekiel Elliott, who isn’t new to Dallas, but is a free agent signing, led the team in rushing with 40 yards on 10 carries, including a touchdown. And we’re not sure the snap count contribution of the veteran defensive tackles, but the Cowboys kept the Browns’ rushing attack in check. Running backs Jerome Brown and Pierre Strong Jr. combined for just 54 yards on 14 attempts. This is quite the contrast to the 307 rushing yards they allowed to the Browns the last time they squared off.

5. A new star linebacker emerges

The defense was all over the place, but only one player led the team in tackles and that was second-year linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. He finished the game with 11 total tackles, five were solo, and he even had a sack after firing out of a cannon to stop Deshaun Watson in his tracks.

6. The Z Boyzzz

It was a great showing by the defense as a whole, but their playmakers were making plays. Micah Parsons had a sack, DeMarcus Lawrence had two sacks. Kendricks had two sacks and an interception. Overshown led the team in tackles and had a sack. And it wouldn’t be a dominating defensive performance if Trevon Diggs didn’t have his token pick. Zimmer has a lot of talent to work with.

7. No revenge for Amari

Without DaRond Bland, it was a little concerning how the defense would hold up by throwing out a rookie corner to face off against former Cowboys star receiver Amari Cooper. The Cowboys had a good plan for Cooper, mixing up their coverage. There were times when the rookie Caelen Carson went up against him, but the rook held his own. Cooper finished the game with just two catches for 16 yards. There is a great deal of satisfaction and a little bit of irony that Cooper was shut down by the contributions of a fifth-round draft pick.

8. Best kicker in football

Brandon Aubrey is the best kicker in NFL and he was back to his usual bag of tricks on Sunday. He knocked down four field goals (57, 50, 46. and 40 yards) and it could have been five if the Cowboys didn’t get flagged for a stupid delay of game penalty. That penalty cost Aubrey a share of the NFL record as it negated a 66-yarder that would have tied Justin Tucker.

Not only is his leg a strong one, but his accuracy is fantastic. 50-yarders look like chip shots for him and he was nailing them right down the middle. He’s even figuring out a way to hack the dynamic kickoff as he lined a couple of them into the landing zone, one of which went for a touchback at the 20-yard line (instead of 30). He’s just good at everything he does.

9. A road win against a good team

The Browns are a good team with a very good defense, so going into the Dawgpound and coming away with a convincing win is rather impressive. It’s something the Cowboys are often criticized for not doing. Well, this season they play against five teams who won more than 10 games last year: San Francisco, Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Cleveland.

One down.

10. Dodged a big one

It did not look good when tight end Jake Ferguson landed awkwardly when being tackled by Browns linebacker Jordan Hicks. Ferguson exited the game and did not return. While the extent of the injury is still unknown, things appear to look promising.