Name one good, bad, and ugly thing from the Cowboys 2024 season opener.
The Dallas Cowboys looked surprisingly as if they were already in midseason form in the season-opener against the Cleveland Browns Sunday afternoon. They completely dominated in all three phases of the game against what is expected to be a really good team on their home turf and ended up walking away with the 33-17 victory.
This impressive road victory answers a lot of concerns we may have had about this year’s team, but only time will tell if they can continue to play with this type of dominance while also continuing to improve as a whole. Like with any game though, there was some good, some bad, and a little ugly sprinkled in there as well. Today, we’ll take a look at each one.
THE GOOD – Dak Prescott
The ink on his new four-year, $240 million contract probably wasn’t even dry yet before he took the field against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1, but Dak Prescott went out and showed why he’s now the highest-paid player in NFL history Sunday afternoon. His stats of course won’t wow you (179 passing yards, 1 TD), but he was decisive and accurate with most of his throws against one of the better defenses in the entire league. His command of the offense this early in the season will hopefully only continue improve as the season progresses.
THE BAD – Jake Ferguson’s injury
Jake Ferguson is coming off a Pro Bowl season with the Cowboys and was expected to be an integral part of their offense once again this year. Sadly, he suffered and injury to his knee against the Cleveland Browns in the game. The severity of his injury is unknown as is how much time he could possibly miss, but if he misses time it will be a significant blow to the offense. There’s no one else currently on the roster anywhere close to his level of play as both a block or and receiver.
THE UGLY – The Browns offense against the Cowboys defense
The Cleveland Browns may have been without their starting tackles Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills Jr. in the season opener, but even if they were available it might not have saved them from being completely dominated by the Cowboys defense. Dallas’ defense finished the night with 26 QB pressures, six QB sacks, and two interceptions. They did give up a total of 17 points, but there’s no denying they made Cleveland look absolutely ugly. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for them under Mike Zimmer’s new defensive scheme.
