CLEVELAND – If an NFL game is a bingo card, it's going to be hard for the Cowboys and their fans not to fill up all the spaces after this one.
I'm not calling it a full "blackout" across the board, but make no mistake, there are lot of boxes checked after Sunday's performance in Cleveland.
For all of the things we were excited to finally see with the start of the season, we pretty much got to see all of them. And the best thing? It was the headliners who were doing it.
The newly named Huntington Bank Field is just a few blocks away from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in downtown Cleveland. That's a place that is used to housing all kinds of superstars.
So it made sense that the Cowboys' stars felt right at home.
Dak Prescott, fresh off getting the biggest bag in NFL history, came out and played a solid to good game, especially in the first half. He was crisp with his throws, made some passes on the run and led the offense down the field for points. It wasn't completely clean, but points are points, especially when you have that defense.
And yes, let's get to Mike Zimmer's defense. We've been waiting to see just how aggressive they would be, and it didn't take long to find out. I guess we could've asked Deshaun Watson, who literally ran for his life all day long. He was sacked six times, but it felt like it should've been about nine or 10 sacks. After the game, Micah Parsons was kicking himself in the locker room, thinking he should've had at least two more sacks than the one he got. Still, the pressure is what you're asking for, and it was constant from start to finish.
And it's not just pressure and sacks because stopping the run was a key component to hiring Zimmer in the first place. We know Cleveland is a team that likes to run the ball, but in the first half, there was nowhere to go. The Browns had one first down on their opening drive, but never moved the chains again in the first half.
I said it all week long – and I feel good about this prediction now – that the Browns would have a much tougher time blocking Parsons and company than the Cowboys would against Myles Garrett and the Browns.
And let's get to that offensive line play. It wasn't perfect at all. Garrett got a sack and forced fumble, but he wasn't a huge factor in the game. The Cowboys did a good job of giving both tackles some help, and they also rolled Dak out of the pocket away from Garrett a few times too.
Overall, the addition of Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe was a good start for this offense. I think the running game could've been better, especially in the second half. There's always going to be something to improve on, and this running game could headline the list.
But again, it wasn't awful. When they needed to pick up first downs and touchdowns, they were able to do that in the running game. How cool was it to see Ezekiel Elliott back in the end zone once again? That penalty on Garrett that moved the ball from the 7-yard line to the 3 was a huge play in the game. That changed the down and distance and allowed the Cowboys to pound the ball – with Zeke – into the end zone for a touchdown.
Ok, let's keep it moving on the things we wanted to see.
What about Trevon Diggs' return from injury? What about Brandon Aubrey's encore after that magical first year? And what about Caelen Carson starting his first game?
Check, check, check.
Diggs was amazing before his interception in the fourth quarter. We didn't even really hear from him at all, and that's a great thing for a cornerback. And it's not like the other side was getting picked on too bad. Carson held up fine in his first game. Again, it helps when you don't have to cover for that long.
Aubrey is an absolute weapon. It's a shame the NFL didn't restart the play clock like they usually do, which would have allowed him to kick and make that 66-yarder before the half. Even without that, he was money once again.
And staying with special teams, KaVontae Turpin finally breaks free and scores on a return, busting out a 60-yard punt return to the house to basically put the game away.
We can go on and on with other standouts such as Eric Kendricks and DeMarvion Overshown at linebacker. Wideout Brandin Cooks is going to be a difference-maker for this offense this year, and without watching the game again, it felt like Osa Odighizuwa was living in the backfield.
All of the boxes were checked in a game like this.
Go ahead and pick apart the running game if you need to. It does need to be better. But to me, this game had a lot of similar feelings to the 40-0 blowout over the Giants in last year's Week 1. The defense and special teams were so dominant that it didn't force the offense to go out and make a ton of plays.
The goal at the end of the day is to come out and dominate. It felt like the Cowboys were able to do that in all three phases – and did it in a place where the Browns rarely lost last year.
All in all, this was an impressive start to the season because the Cowboys not only won the game, and won comfortably, but did it with a host of standouts who we've been waiting to see.
Dak and CeeDee Lamb got their contracts done and both played well, igniting the offense early. The defense was lights out under Zimmer with Parsons wrecking the game as we've seen before. The special teams was … special, and the new players such as Kendricks, Overshown, Carson, Guyton and Beebe all appear to be great additions.
Were these the things we wanted to see? Bingo!
