Dallas City News

Week 1 is in the books, and the Cowboys got away with a very strong win over the Browns despite being the underdog. It was a showcase for the defense and special teams en route to a 33-17 blowout, so it’s not surprising to see lots of defenders coming away with high grades from Pro Football Focus. Let’s take a look.

Few offensive fireworks, but the job got done

It was not the best day for the Cowboys offense, especially relative to what they did last year with Mike McCarthy calling plays. That said, it was fairly apparent that the gameplan was impacted by the vaunted defense they were facing. Even so, the offense managed to move the ball well enough to score quite a lot of points.

WR CeeDee Lamb – 68.6

CeeDee Lamb was, by far, the Cowboys’ most productive skill player in this game; he caught five passes for 61 yards and also ran for 25 yards on three jet sweep plays. Even still, Lamb’s grade is just pedestrian, a reflection of the “good, not great” day the entire offense had.

LG Tyler Smith – 77.3

The highest-graded player on the offense in Week 1 was Tyler Smith, a positive sign for the guard coming off his first All-Pro selection. He was flawless in pass protection and was his usual self in the run game, moving people and opening up holes. Dallas had some of their best run plays when going behind Smith.

RT Terence Steele – 67.9

For all of the attention that was on Tyler Guyton heading into this game, Terence Steele deserves some talk after this game. Steele had to go up against both Myles Garrett and ZaDarius Smith throughout this game, and he answered the call, giving up just one pressure on the day. Steele, like Smith, also looked great in the run game; he actually edged Smith out for the top run blocking grade on the offensive line with a 71.8 grade.

C Cooper Beebe – 67.8

Praise is being directed Guyton’s way, and rightfully so, for only giving up a sack and two pressures against Garrett; however, his fellow rookie Cooper Beebe had an even better NFL debut. Beebe posted a goose-egg in the pressure column, one of just three rookie linemen to do that across the NFL, and also looked good in run blocking despite going against a savvy veteran run-stuffer in Dalvin Tomlinson.

Defense dominated on every level

The first game under new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer was a resounding success. The pass rush was harassing Deshaun Watson all game, the secondary made everything a challenge, and even the run defense looked good. Hopefully this is just a taste of what’s to come.

EDGE Micah Parsons – 75.8

Breaking news: Micah Parsons is still Micah Parsons. The versatile edge rusher lined up all over the place on Sunday and wreaked havoc on the Browns offense. He posted 11 pressures, most in the NFL in Week 1, and came away with one sack. Parsons also batted a pass in the air that resulted in a pick for Eric Kendricks.

LB DeMarvion Overshown – 88.6

Nobody came away with a better grade on defense than DeMarvion Overshown. He finally made his NFL debut after missing all of last year with an injury. The wait was worth it, too, as Overshown was flying around on the field. He led the team in tackles with 11, recorded six run stops, and generated a pressure on both of his blitzes with a sack on one of them. Overshown showed himself to be a weapon in Mike Zimmer’s defense.

LB Damone Clark – 77.1

Overshown wasn’t the only linebacker to have a great day. Damone Clark, who had some uneven play last season, came in as the third-best graded defender in this game. He only had four tackles, but two of them went down as a run stop. More importantly, Clark forced an incompletion on his lone target, showing improvement in his biggest area of weakness last year.

CB Jourdan Lewis – 81.1

The most overlooked cornerback on this defense won’t be overlooked anymore. Jourdan Lewis was seemingly all over the field on Sunday, posting five tackles and looking physical as ever against the run. He saw two blitz calls on the day, though both plays saw the quarterback get the ball out quickly. Still, it was a sign of what’s to come for Lewis in this defense. Lewis also posted the top coverage grade for the Cowboys, an achievement given how few open lanes there were for Cleveland in this one.

CB Trevon Diggs – 76.4

Trevon Diggs’ return from an injury was a triumphant one. Physically speaking, he didn’t look bothered in the slightest. Still, Diggs was targeted nine times in the game, giving up just five completions. He forced two incompletions and had two pass breakups, in addition to snagging an interception. Diggs also displayed an uptick in physicality against the run, a positive sign of growth for the star corner.