The Cowboys head to Cleveland for a Week 1 matchup against the Browns, a team they play every four years.
Because the two sides aren't that familiar with each other, figuring out the opponent's scheme will be a huge factor in the success for either team.
The Cowboys have a new defensive coordinator in Mike Zimmer, who has brought a few former Vikings with him to Dallas. But more than anyone, he will still be counting on All-Pro rusher Micah Parsons to have a huge game. He'll be countered by Cleveland's Myles Garrett as this matchup features two of the best defensive players in the NFL.
Here are the 10 big storylines for the week, with five for the Browns and five for the Cowboys.
Browns
- Cleveland is coming off an 11-6 season in 2023, when they finished second in the AFC North and lost to Houston in the wild-card round. Head coach Kevin Stefanski enters his fifth season with the Browns and owns a 37-30 record with two trips to the playoffs. Sunday's game will mark the fourth time in franchise history these teams have opened a season. The Cowboys are 3-0 with victories in 1967, 1991 and 2008.
- The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year is Garrett, who has been one of the league's most feared pass rushers since he entered the league back in 2017. Since then, Garrett has racked up 88.5 sacks and looks to join Reggie White as one of the fastest players ever to reach 100 career sacks, as he currently sits at 100 games played. Garrett will get to face rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton, but expect the Cowboys to provide plenty of help against Garrett, who has reached double-digit sacks for the last six years.
- Deshaun Watson enters his third season with the Browns, but he's yet to play more than six games in each of the last two seasons due to suspension and/or injuries. Watson is looking to establish himself again as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. This will be just his second career matchup against the Cowboys, having beaten Dallas in 2018 as a member of the Texans.
- One player who is very familiar with the Cowboys is Amari Cooper, who played in Dallas from 2018-21. The Pro Bowl receiver was traded before the 2022 season to the Browns, where he has also flourished, earning a Pro Bowl last year with a career-high 1,250 receiving yards.
- The Browns were a much-different team at home than on the road in 2023. In Cleveland, the team went 8-1 with its only loss coming against the Ravens. But on the road, the Browns were just 3-5. Fortunately for them, they are in Cleveland for this game.
Cowboys
- What other coach in the NFL is coming off three straight seasons of 12 wins and still has to win at a higher level to achieve job security? That's the nature of the beast for Mike McCarthy, who enters this season on the final year of his contract. The pressure is higher than ever to win and no one knows that more than McCarthy, who enters his fifth year as head coach of the Cowboys. Another thing McCarthy knows is what happened in his fifth season as the Packers coach. In 2010, Green Bay endured a ton of midseason injuries and still managed to win the Super Bowl, which was played at AT&T Stadium.
- This entire space could be filled with players on the final year of their contract, but let's continue with Dak Prescott. There has been plenty of talk about a potential new deal for the Cowboys quarterback, who stated just last week that it "says a lot" if he gets a new contract before the season and also "says a lot" if he doesn't. We'll see what is actually being said here in the next few days with the Week 1 game looming.
- One contract that did get completed is that of CeeDee Lamb, who got a four-year extension worth $136 million, including $100 million guaranteed. After missing all of training camp, Lamb is now back at practice, although McCarthy said this week Lamb is still on a "pitch count" for practice reps. He did not say how much, if any, Lamb would be limited during the Week 1 matchup in Cleveland.
- For the first time since 2011, the Cowboys will start two rookies on the offensive line, including the left tackle Guyton, who gets the matchup with Garrett right off the bat. Ironically enough, 2011 was the year Tyron Smith started his first game, and now Guyton will replace the future Hall of Famer. At center, Cooper Beebe will start, replacing the departed Tyler Biadasz. Beebe is a third-round pick from Kansas State who never played center in a game during his collegiate career but has made the transition well enough to beat out Brock Hoffman for the starting job.
- The cornerback position has some interesting storylines as DaRon Bland is out at least the first four games with a stress fracture in his foot. Replacing him is rookie Caelen Carson, who has many inside the organization comparing him to Bland, another fifth-round pick two years ago. And don't forget about Trevon Diggs returning from an ACL injury that sidelined him most of last season.
