It has been too many months to count since we’ve seen a Dallas Cowboys win, and the team wasted no time in delivering a huge victory over the Cleveland Browns.
From start to finish, the Cowboys were all over the field in this one.
Non-stop pressure, sacks, and turnovers on defense led to a consistent stream of points on offense.
Let’s get into the recap of this one, because it was far too sweet to not relive.
First Half Domination
The Browns deferred after winning the coin toss, which put the ball in the Cowboys’ hands first. Despite the strong game performance, Dallas started the game on this drive with a three-and-out.
Cleveland settled for the field goal, which came in at an impressive 51 yards for Dustin Hopkins, but that was all she wrote for the Browns in the first half.
From that point on, it was the Cowboys game.
CeeDee Lamb came up with a 34-yard reception, which led to a 21-yard touchdown for Brandin Cooks on a dime of a pass by Dak Prescott. The momentum from that drive sparked the defense, to say the least.
https://twitter.com/NFLonFOX/status/1832883271648031066
Dallas’ defense allowed just 15 total yards in the first quarter, and 7 in the second quarter.
Talk about domination from Mike Zimmer’s group.
The offense exploded in the 2nd quarter as well, dropping 13 points in the quarter.
Second Half Consistency
3rd Quarter
I honestly don’t know if you can have a stronger start to a half than the Cowboys had today.
After a DeMarcus Lawrence sack on 3rd down, KaVontae Turpin took the ensuing punt to the house for his first career punt-return touchdown.
The 60-yard touchdown exploded the Cowboys lead to 27-3.
Cleveland did respond with a touchdown on a strong 12-play, 75-yard drive. Tight End David Njoku’s 29-yard reception was the highlight of the game for the Browns.
That score made it 27-10, and marked the final touchdown of the game for either team.
Three consecutive 3 and outs by both times followed, one of which came at the hands of an Eric Kendricks sack.
Eric Kendricks gets in on the sack party!pic.twitter.com/dzrRrEwgE5
— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) September 8, 2024
The veteran linebacker shined in his Dallas debut, finishing with an interception, a sack, and nine total tackles.
Dallas concluded the 3rd quarter with a 50-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey on a drive that centered around Rico Dowdle.
The All-Pro Kicker ended his day going 7/7 on kicks, four of which were field goals.
4th Quarter
Continued defensive dominance was the story of the 4th, as the Cowboys shut out the Browns in the final quarter of this game.
Rookie Marshawn Kneeland and DeMarvion Overshown were the top guys that forced a turnover on downs on Cleveland’s opening drive of the quarter.
The Cowboys final score of the game came on following drive, as Hunter Luepke and Ezekiel Elliott brought the offense into field goal range for another Aubrey field goal.
Dallas’ lead extended to 33-10 with that score, which was their final of the game.
While the offense wrapped up their scoring, the defense was not done yet, as All-Pro Trevon Diggs snagged his first interception since his ACL injury last season.
Trevon Diggs secures his first INT of the season!
📺: #DALvsCLE on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/cCPhsj1Xc0— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024
Punter Bryan Anger sent his final punt of the day away after this turnover, as the Cowboys went 3 and out in their final offensive drive of this one.
With Dallas’ foot off the gas, Watson decided it was his time to shine.
Cleveland ended the game off with a 15-play, 64-yard drive that culminated in a Jerome Ford touchdown.
This brought the game to 33-17, which was the final score in this Week 1 Cowboys win.
