What We Saw: Week 1

Dallas Cowboys @ Cleveland Browns

Final Score: DAL 33 – CLE 17

Writer: Cesar Escajeda (@cescajeda13 on Twitter)

A matchup of two strong defenses in this one, but the Cowboys were lights-out in their season-opening performance.

Three Up

• Dak Prescott, QB (DAL) – He had a fairly pedestrian day against a stout Browns defensive unit, but did enough to move the Dallas offense into position and come out of Cleveland with a win. It’s also nice to suddenly be the highest-paid player in the NFL.
• Brandon Aubrey, K (DAL) – It’s genuinely fun to watch Aubrey kick the ball around. He went 4/4 on field goals and 3/3 on extra point attempts, leading the Cowboys’ scoring efforts and being a weapon overall from various parts of the field. It certainly would’ve been cool to see him try that 71-yarder before halftime.
• Mike Zimmer – The Dallas defense was monstrous in Cleveland, harassing Deshaun Watson to the tune of 6 sacks and two interceptions. There were pressures galore from Micah Parsons and co., and aside from a single drive in the 3rd quarter the Browns simply looked lost out there. It was a stellar performance from this unit, and Zimmer’s scheme coupled with the Cowboys’ talent looks like a nightmare for opposing offenses right now.

Three Down

• Deshaun Watson, QB (CLE) – This could be an indictment for the entire Browns offense, but I’ll start here. Watson had a chance to make a statement coming back from past down performances and the injury-riddled years since signing his mega-deal, but it was more of the same for the former Houston Texan. The Cowboys made life miserable for him, but multiple turnovers, missed throws, and overall ineptitude simply don’t inspire confidence in him or the Browns going forward.
• Amari Cooper, WR (CLE) – Once again, I can’t stress enough how bad the Browns offense looked in this one. I’m singling out Cooper, however, for his lack of production in helping the Browns out of their rut on Sunday afternoon. He missed some decent throws from Watson on the day and was overall bottled up by rookie CB Caelon Carson. Watson’s deep bomb pass moments before being obliterated by DT Jordan Philips hit Cooper squarely in the hands a few steps from the endzone, and he just missed it. It was an ultimate lowlight moment for a bad outing overall for Cooper in this one.
• Player Injuries – Injuries are awful, and there were multiple in this one. The most serious seems to be star TEs on both sides – Jake Ferguson & David Njoku. Both had to be helped off the field and it remains to be seen to what extent each was hurt in this outing. Hopefully, both injuries are minor and they’re both able to return to game action sooner rather than later.

Dallas Cowboys

Quarterback

Dak Prescott: 19/32, 179 Yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs, 85.3 Passer Rating / 1 Carry, 3 Yards, 0 TDs

The NFL’s new highest-paid man wasn’t too shabby in this one.

Notes

• The Cowboys started this game off extremely shaky, going backward on the game’s opening drive – but Prescott was able to settle them down and march down the field in six plays on the following possession, culminating in an impressive 21-yard lob of a TD catch to Brandin Cooks with a free rusher directly in his face. The rest of the day felt more of a drag out, but Prescott got them into field goal range time and time again to put this game out of reach early.

Missed Opportunities

• It would have been nice to see Prescott expand on his rapport with Lamb and Cooks in this game. He hit both for big early gains and looked their way plenty, but just couldn’t connect. It remains to be seen how much of it was a tough Browns defense, or lack of camp reps with Lamb’s holdout, but the lack of completions left much to be desired.

Running Back

Ezekiel Elliott: 10 Carries, 40 Yards (4.0 Average), 1 TD / 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 9 Yards, 0 TDs

I don’t think Zeke is as “washed” as everyone says he is.

Notes

• Zeke and Rico Dowdle swapped each series to start the game, being spelled on occasion when needed. It does indeed look to be a committee approach in the backfield for Dallas, but Elliott got the first crack at it and appeared to have the most burst and confidence of the two. Zeke was decisive on his runs and spry with his catches and cutbacks, averaging a modest 4 yards per carry. His pass protection wasn’t too bad either.

Missed Opportunities

• The game was well out of reach early in the second half, but there wasn’t much carry volume for either back as Dallas tried to run out the clock. It would have been nice to see the Cowboys hand the ball off more consistently and effectively to close the game out.

Rico Dowdle: 8 Carries, 26 Yards (3.3 Average), 0 TDs / 1 Target, 1 Catch, 6 Yards, 0 TDs

The RB1B in the committee in this Ohio outing.

Notes

• Dowdle played second fiddle to Zeke across the board, but still received opportunities throughout the game to make his mark in this one.

Missed Opportunities

• Overall it appeared that the coaches wanted Dowdle to show out with what he was given, but it just never materialized against the Browns. He’ll likely continue to vulture touches from Zeke in the RB rotation, but he’ll need to do more with what he’s given as the season wears on.

Hunter Luepke: 0 Carries, 0 Yards, 0 TDs / 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 18 Yards, 0 TDs

Deuce Vaughn: 1 Carry, 4 Yards (4.0 Average), 0 TDs

Wide Receiver/Tight End

CeeDee Lamb: 10 Targets, 5 Receptions, 61 Yards (12.2 Average), 0 TDs / 3 Carries, 25 Yards, 0 TDs

The volume was there, but Lamb and Dak struggled to ball out in this one.

Notes

• The second Cowboys drive was absolutely the CeeDee Lamb show, making multiple tough grabs as Dallas marched down the field. His highlight on the night was a physical 34-yard catch and run to move the Cowboys into Cleveland territory. Lamb’s usage was great to see as Dallas made him the focal point of their attack, looking his way early and often and even utilizing him in the run game on some speedy jet sweeps.

Missed Opportunities

• 61 yards total on 10 targets feels like a letdown for one of the league’s most explosive pass catchers last year. It will be great to see him turn that into much more moving forward in the season.

Brandin Cooks: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 40 Yards (10.0 Average), 1 TD / 1 Carry, 5 Yards, 0 TDs

The WR2 for Dallas drew some solid attention from Dak on the day.

Notes

• It was a positive sign to see Prescott go Cooks’s way so often against Cleveland. The first TD of the day was that well-placed floater for 21 yards that Cooks was in perfect position for, and the utilization stayed consistent until he was forced out with an injury. The veteran receiver would later return and draw a few targets, so it looks to be all clear going forward.

Missed Opportunities

• Likewise, with Lamb, it would have been positive to see the connection hit more often given the volume of targets Cooks saw. This will be something to look for as the weeks go by, but with the injury to Ferguson, Cooks may eat the lion’s share of targets that don’t go Lamb’s way.

Jake Ferguson: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 15 Yards (5.0 Average), 0 TDs

There was promise for the tough TE before his injury.

Notes

• Ferguson started off slow but garnered attention from Prescott as the game wore on, finding himself as a trustworthy option for short-yardage throws. His injury was extremely concerning, as the Browns defender went low for the tackle on his left leg, causing Ferguson to land awkwardly and immediately sent him to the ground in pain. He was helped into the locker room and was officially listed as “Questionable to Return” for the remainder of the afternoon, but never did. It remains to be seen what comes of this, but Ferguson is a workhorse option in this offense and it will hurt them if he’s forced to miss any time.

Kavontae Turpin: 1 Target, 0 Receptions, 0 Yards (0.0 Average), 0 TDs / 1 Punt Return TD (60 Yards)

Jalen Brooks: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 18 Yards (18.0 Average), 0 TDs

Jalen Tolbert: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 12 Yards (12.0 Average), 0 TDs

Cleveland Browns

Quarterback

Deshaun Watson: 24/49, 169 Yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 54.1 Passer Rating / 5 Carries, 39 Yards, 0 TDs

Just a rough afternoon all around for Watson.

Notes

• Watson returned to the Browns’ offense with plenty of hope and optimism, but the Cowboys defense quickly shut that down. He was absolutely menaced by Dallas on the day, being sacked 6 times and pressured from multiple angles. Watson also had a fumble that was recovered by the Browns. Dallas may be the real deal on defense and Watson will have better days to prove himself and what Cleveland’s offense can do, but this was certainly one to forget for the veteran.

Missed Opportunities

• The entire game, pretty much. But if we’re looking at specifics, he had multiple throws to both Cooper and Jerry Jeudy that could’ve been something had the timing or throw been better. I think Watson will bounce back just based on a few of the actions and decisions he made throughout the afternoon, but it definitely wasn’t a good game for the Browns as a whole.

Running Back

Jerome Ford: 12 Carries, 44 Yards (3.7 Average), 1 TD / 7 Targets, 6 Catches, 25 Yards, 0 TDs

Target volume and garbage time saved an otherwise quiet day for Ford.

Notes

• It was difficult sledding for the Browns run game as a whole. There was a single drive all afternoon (besides the end of the 4th quarter when the game was well out of reach) where Ford and the offense looked crisp, but it was otherwise an uneventful outing overall. The upside is that Ford dominated touches and should continue to do so, at least until Nick Chubb returns.

Missed Opportunities

• Ford was stellar for the Browns to close last season but couldn’t find anything to go off of against a tough Cowboys defense. His hard running will earn him better days going forward, but it was lackluster overall to start the season off.

Pierre Strong Jr.: 2 Carries, 10 Yards (5.0 Average), 0 TDs / 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards, 0 TDs

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Amari Cooper: 9 Targets, 2 Receptions, 16 Yards (8.0 Average), 0 TDs

Just a brutally disappointing performance.

Notes

• Cooper drew the most targets from Watson on a day where he was shadowed by a rookie corner in his first NFL action. You’d think a savvy veteran like Cooper would feast on such a situation; you’d be wrong. Watson and Cooper just couldn’t get on the same page at any point on the afternoon, making missed throw after missed throw to further the Browns’ woes on offense. It was rough, to say the least, with the only real positive here being the volume with which Watson looked his way.

Missed Opportunities

• Cooper’s dropped catch late in the 4th was an exclamation point on how bad the wideout performed in the season opener. He burned backup Cowboys defender Israel Mukuamu and would’ve had an on-target deep ball TD, but just failed to reel it in.

Jerry Jeudy: 8 Targets, 3 Receptions, 25 Yards (8.3 Average), 1 TD

The former Denver Broncos 1st rounder got opportunities aplenty to kick the season off.

Notes

• Jeudy received solid target volume, but much like Cooper, he simply could not connect with Watson on the majority of them. He was the beneficiary of a TD pass on the lone good-looking Browns drive in the 3rd but was quiet the rest of the afternoon. Still, the fact that the offense wants to look his way bodes well for future games.

David Njoku: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 44 Yards (11.0 Average), 0 TDs

A great passing option for Cleveland, but the injury looms large.

Notes

• Njoku looked solid to start the game off, finding holes in coverage and becoming a security blanket for Watson in the early portion of the matchup. His injury came off of a violent hit in the middle of the field, and he remained out for the remainder of the game. Like Ferguson, the severity of his injury remains to be seen, but the hope is that he’ll be good to come back sooner rather than later.

Jordan Akins: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 27 Yards (9.0 Average), 0 TDs

Elijah Moore: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 9 Yards (3.0 Average), 0 TDs

Cedric Tillman: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 3 Yards (3.0 Average), o TDs