DAL at CLE: The Cowboys will go as far as Dak Prescott takes them

When the Dallas Cowboys take the field versus the Cleveland Browns late Sunday afternoon, it will be the first time we see the team in full action since the playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers this past January.

There are several new faces on both offense and defense, and we are all anxious to see how the team on the field will be different from the team that got blown off of their home field in the postseason.

One of my weekly articles this season will feature key matchups between the Cowboys and their opponent. Sometimes it will be an entire unit versus one player, and other times it will be a player versus player comparison.

Let’s start this week with a mixture of both, with the biggest key matchup in the hands of QB Dak Prescott. The Cowboys will go as far as Dak Prescott can take them.

Offensive Line vs Myles Garrett

One of the toughest challenges any team faces when playing the Cleveland Browns is how to contain their All-Pro and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett. Garrett is widely considered the best pass-rusher in the NFL. The award is warranted.

Cleveland DC Jim Schwartz loves to move Garrett around the formation to confuse offensive coordinators and create mismatches. Unlike the way former Cowboys’ DC Dan Quinn used to rush Micah Parsons from one side of the defense, Garrett lines up all across the formation.

The defensive monster from Texas A&M University uses multiple pass-rush techniques to get to the quarterback. Bull rush, swim moves, and jab steps are just part of his repertoire, and the Cowboys’ offensive line will need to be ready for anything.

Schwartz will use Garrett over Cowboys rookie LT Tyler Guyton, and will likely line him up over rookie C Cooper Beebe, as well to blitz into the A-gap and right into Dak Prescott’s lap. Chip blocks from tight ends and running backs will be key in slowing down Garrett’s effectiveness.

Caelen Carson vs Amari Cooper

The Dallas Cowboys unfortunately lost a starting cornerback to injury early in the season for the second year in a row. This time, the season had yet to start before DaRon Bland was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot requiring surgery.

Bland is projected to be out of the lineup for 6-8 weeks, again delaying the pairing we have all wanted to see: Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland on the field together. Diggs was lost to a torn ACL last season before a week 3 game in Arizona.

DaRon Bland, a slot player at the time, was given the opportunity to replace Diggs on the outside, and all he did was earn 1st team All-Pro honors while breaking an NFL single-season record for interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Rookie CB Caelen Carson now receives the same opportunity with Bland out for the next couple of months. Carson, a 5th round pick, has shown flashes of potential throughout training camp and the preseason, and it’s time to put it all together.

Carson will likely line up across from elite route-runner and former member of the Dallas Cowboys, Amari Cooper. Cooper was famously traded away for a 5th round pick, and the Cowboys used salary cap relief as an excuse. Everyone can tell me each time to get over it, but that remains one of the worst moves the Cowboys have made with a player.

Cooper is still one of the top wide receivers in the NFL, and Carson’s ability to cover him can have a direct impact on the results of the game.

Dak Prescott vs Jim Schwartz

Now in year nine, Dak Prescott has turned into one of those quarterbacks who knows the offense so well, he has the freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage after reading the defense.

Today’s game will be a chess match pre-snap between Prescott and Browns’ DC Jim Schwartz. Schwartz is a master at disguising coverage and blitzes, and Prescott will have to be sharp to stay one step ahead.

Prescott’s ability to recognize the coverage pre-snap will allow him to change the play to best attack the look the Browns are in. Being able to diagnose when and where a blitz is coming from will allow him to call the correct protection on the offensive line to award him that precious extra second to get rid of the football.

The Browns defense is one of the best in the NFL at defending the pass. Making sure that Cleveland’s playmakers in the secondary have to second guess themselves in coverage will go a long way towards the success of the offense. With a lineup of Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome III, Martin Emerson, Grant Delpit, and Juan Thornhill, Schwartz has the confidence to bring more blitzes than usual because he believes the coverage will hold up on the back end.

Identifying the free blitzer and which defensive backs are playing man coverage will be key for Prescott on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland.