Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images The Cowboys pass rush might have a weakness to exploit on the Browns One of the big stories going into the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns game this week concerned the left tackle position. Mainly folks were wondering how Cowboys rookie Tyler Guyton would hold up against Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, or his partner Za’Darius Smith. While Guyton, a first-round draft pick in 2024 has looked fantastic in training camp and the little bit of preseason he played, he is still a rookie and a real NFL game is like nothing else. It was a foregone conclusion that the Browns defense would try to isolate Guyton in the pass rush and take advantage. But as it turns out, the Cowboys may be up to some of that, too. Micah Parsons is every bit the equal of Garrett in the pass rush department, and he may be lining up against a backup on Sunday. The Browns were hoping to have starting left tackle Jedrick Wills back on Sunday, but he missed practice on Thursday due to injury and told reporters that he would not be starting on Sunday. “I’m not starting this week,” Wills said on Wednesday, via Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan. “I’m just going out there for individual [drills]. Just seeing how it feels and get back into things.” Wills is coming back from MCL surgery. Head coach Kevin Stefnaski had mentioned the possibility of Wills playing this week. But it sounds like if that were to happen, it would be on some sort of rotational basis. The Browns are also having issues with their starting right tackle, Jack Conklin, as he too shows up on the injury report. No Jedrick Wills Jr. today at practice. Jack Conklin has been limited last 2 days during portion open to reporters which could open the door for James Hudson #Browns — Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) September 5, 2024 It looks like they will not be playing Wills, and another report had Conklin only doing individual drills and being basically a spectator on Wednesday. The Browns offensive line could be down their two best tackles on Sunday. Part of the reason the Cowboys are 2.5-point (FanDuel) underdogs to the Browns is the rookies on the offensive line, especially Guyton who will have to deal with Garrett. But Micah Parsons unleashed against backup tackles, along with DeMarcus Lawrence, would be a huge advantage for the Cowboys defense. Keep an eye on this as Friday’s injury report comes out. Check out our partner FanDuel for all your betting needs.

Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images FOOTBALL IS BACK. The 2024 NFL regular season has finally arrived. Tonight the season begins with a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens. That is a high-powered AFC clash. Our partners at FanDuel have the Chiefs as three-point favorites in the game. This should be a good one with revenge for last year’s playoff loss on the minds of the Ravens. They’ve added Derrick Henry to help carry the load, but they have to travel to KC for the game. It’s hard to bet against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. In this game, the Chiefs will win, but the Ravens will cover in a 24-22 Kansas City victory. Check out FanDuel for all of your NFL betting needs. This is an open thread for game chat.

Phil Masturzo/ Beacon Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK Here is the Dallas Cowboys injury report for Thursday [UPDATE]: CB Caelen Carson was added to the injury report. He was a full participant, but was listed with a knee issue. Here is the Thursday practice report for the #DallasCowboys and Cleveland Browns: – CB Caelen Carson was added as a full participant with a knee injury – Browns T Jedrick Wills (knee) DNP after saying yesterday he would not start pic.twitter.com/VDsiAqSup9 — Nick Harris (@NickHarrisDC) September 5, 2024 For the second day in a row, the Cowboys injury report is looking good. Today’s report looks the same as yesterday. Along the defensive line, Mazi Smith (Achilles) and Marshawn Kneeland (knee) were full participants. Israel Mukuamu was practicing again as was Damone Clark, also listed as full participants. John Stephens still remains out from team activities at least for another day. Thursday’s #Browns and #Cowboys injury report pic.twitter.com/YrU1IasZ3z — Chris Easterling (@ceasterlingABJ) September 5, 2024 For Cleveland, it appears they will be without their starting left tackle. Jedrick Wills told reporters he will not start against the Cowboys and missed practice on Thursday. If the news holds true and Wills misses this week’s game, it’ll be a big loss for Browns’ chances at neutralizing the Cowboys’ pass rush led by Micah Parsons. Additionally, Jack Conklin, who likely will start in Wills’ place was again limited at practice. Defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson was listed as limited at practice on Thursday with a knee injury.

Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images Don’t be surprised if the Cowboys look a little rusty in the 2024 season opener. Ideally, the Dallas Cowboys would come out in the season opener against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 of the 2024 season and already look as if they’re in midseason form. That unfortunately is probably unrealistic considering the majority of their starters had little to no snaps in the preseason, and because of that, will likely look a little rusty early on. Rust could be a significant factor in the outcome of this Week 1 matchup with the Cleveland Browns. The Cowboys decision to rest the majority of their starters on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball in the preseason means whatever rust they needed to knock off was hopefully done in training camp. Sadly, training camp practices may not have been enough to completely knock off all of the rust. Offensively there are a couple of big factors that could result in some sloppy play in this Week 1 matchup with the Browns. For one, the offensive line continuity may not be at the level it really needs to be at the beginning of the season. As things stand right now, it looks as if the Cowboys will have two new faces starting for them at two critical positions along their offensive line. Cooper Beebe and Tyler Guyton, both rookies this year, will need to be at their best against Cleveland and their talented defensive front. With mostly just practice reps with the other starters, communication will be key. If that’s not concern enough, the connection between Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb will only have a few practice reps to get back to where it was last season because of No. 88’s holdout. These two combined for 135 receptions for 1,749 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023. Hopefully there’s little to no rust with their synchronization. We can only hope CeeDee Lamb was putting in the work during his time away from the team while contract negotiations were ongoing. Even if he was, he still may not be exactly in “football” shape right away. It may take him a little time on his own to knock off a little rust, and as such, may struggle a bit in Week 1. There might be just as much concern about players looking a little rusty on the defensive side of the ball as well. Not only are they still learning and fine tuning themselves to Mike Zimmer’s new defensive scheme, but a lot of them didn’t participate in any of the preseason either. Plus, injuries and free agent additions will play a factor as well. Jordan Phillips and Linval Joseph haven’t had much time to acclimate themselves in Dallas other than in training camp practice. That alone could have a ripple effect through the rest of the defense from Dallas’ young linebacker corps to their secondary where it looks as if they will start at rookie CB Caelen Carson as DaRon Bland’s injury fill-in on the outside. So yes, while the shortened preseason may help prevent early season injuries, it also likely means we could see quite a bit of rust still remaining for several Cowboys players. That could result in sloppiness in all three phases the game in the season opener against the Browns, but only time will tell how much it will play a factor in the outcome.

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images We countdown the days to kickoff giving you an interesting fact about each number. Today is number 3 We are at day 3 of our 99 day countdown until the regular season. Here is your daily fact associated with number 3. The fastest touchdown ever recorded in the NFL was by a Dallas Cowboys player, and it was scored just 3 seconds after kickoff. Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images Andy Reid has consistently demonstrated a willingness to adopt an aggressive approach during games. However, in his fourth season with the Eagles, this boldness proved to be counterproductive when they encountered a unique situation: trailing by a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys just three seconds into the game, a scenario unprecedented in the history of the league. In a significant Week 6 matchup in 2003 featuring the Cowboys and the Eagles, kicker David Akers initiated the game with an onside kick. However, rather than the Eagles recovering the ball, Cowboys receiver Randal Williams intercepted it mid-air, demonstrating his preparedness for the play and marking the beginning of a record-setting event. Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images Williams earned a reputation as a remarkably swift player. As he secured the ball, Williams utilized his remarkable quickness to evade a tackle attempt by an Eagles player, making a direct dash toward the end zone. This remarkable 37-yard return consumed merely three seconds of game time, establishing an NFL record that remains unbroken. Given the recent changes to kickoff regulations, it appears that this record may never be surpassed. The new kickoff rules will ensure that Randal Williams will keep the record for the fastest TD scored. 3 seconds. pic.twitter.com/10hlnpGqZU — Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) March 26, 2024 Dallas ultimately triumphed in the match with a score of 23-21, underscoring the significance of the touchdown in securing their victory.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images The Dallas Cowboys defense is set to look a lot different than in recent years, bringing back former coordinator Mike Zimmer as Dan Quinn departed for the Washington Commanders head coaching job. Quinn left behind plenty of talent for Zimmer with many of these recognizable players sitting out the preseason and showing the Cowboys have no intention of taking a step back on this side of the ball. Unfortunately, to do so early in the season they will need to overcome two significant injuries suffered in training camp. DE Sam Williams was lost for the season and last year’s record-breaking CB DaRon Bland will reportedly miss at least six weeks with a foot injury. The Cowboys should be fully embracing the chance to show a new defensive look to teams with the wisdom and experience from a veteran coordinator like Zimmer. Week 1 on Sunday afternoon is no easy task to get off on the right foot though, as the Cowboys go on the road to the Browns for a meeting against former WR Amari Cooper, as well as Elijah Moore, Jerry Jeudy, and a stout offensive line that plays in protection of potentially dangerous QB Deshaun Watson. Where should the Cowboys, and their fans, have the most confidence throughout the defense expected to see the field on Sunday? Here is our ranking by position group. Cornerback Players: Trevon Diggs, Caelen Carson, Andrew Booth Jr., Jourdan Lewis, C.J. Goodwin It says a lot about not only the way new players have stepped up at cornerback, but the coaching of both Zimmer and secondary/assistant head coach Al Harris, that this position group still leads off the list despite not starting the season with Bland. The ball-hawking pairing of Bland and Diggs playing in tandem will still have to wait a little longer, but welcoming back Diggs himself after an ACL tear in 2023 is big. Diggs is still more than capable of taking away an opposing team’s top weapon, and perhaps more importantly putting fear into quarterbacks to even test his side of the field. When paired with the pass rush the Cowboys can consistently expect to get from a player like Micah Parsons, Diggs is regularly put in position to play to his best strengths. Of course, if fewer throws come in the direction of Diggs on Sundays, other Dallas defenders will be tested. Veteran Jourdan Lewis has looked rejuvenated in this new defense, seeing the field more as the Cowboys shift their trust on the backend to true defensive backs and less hybrid linebacker types. Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images Lewis has made the most of these reps by finding the ball and finishing with a patented competitiveness through the catch point. His best spot in the defense is still as a slot cornerback, leaving the Cowboys to look elsewhere on the depth chart for their early-season replacement for Bland’s outside position. It looks like rookie Caelen Carson will get the first shot at replacing Bland. The Wake Forest prospect has done absolutely everything he can to stand out in his first offseason with the team, playing physical and never backing down from lining up against the Cowboys’ own top pass catchers in Oxnard, but the speed of regular-season games in the NFL can be jarring for rookies. The team will probably offer him plenty of safety help to start the year. Behind Carson would be some combination of Andrew Booth Jr. and flexible safety/corner Israel Mukuamu. Booth is the newest addition to this group as a trade acquisition late in the preseason and natural scheme fit for Zimmer’s defense. Booth needs to work on tracking the ball over his head and locating it to defend passes, but he is a sure tackler on the boundary that can still play a role funneling routes to help defenders elsewhere in the secondary. Mukuamu would likely be a “break glass in case of emergency” guy. Mike Zimmer has made a career for himself in football long enough to be two or three careers combined for other coaches that come and go, mainly because of his prowess in coaching defensive backs and getting the most out of a secondary. They may not be at full strength to start the season, but the Cowboys are more than ready to lean on the trust of Zimmer, Harris, and Diggs as a clear CB1 to start the season feeling very confident about this group. 2. Safety Players: Israel Mukuamu, Donovan Wilson, Markquese Bell, Juanyeh Thomas, Malik Hooker This was a fascinating position group to watch throughout the offseason, as once again the Zimmer effect will be in full effect as a coach not only renowned for getting the most out of cornerbacks, but also safeties. Just about every NFL fan can name a safety that’s played under Zimmer and had success, targeting a specific type of rangy, cerebral player that can chase down throws into coverage and play physical against the run. However, instead of going out and getting these types of players for their new defensive coordinator, the Cowboys have left the safety position as perhaps the most recognizable carryover group from Quinn’s time as coordinator. Nonetheless, just like at CB, the immediate results have been there for a deep group of experienced safeties. Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker may be the most obvious starters that fit the traits just mentioned that Zimmer covets, but both have dealt with durability concerns throughout their career. Even if this duo is able to suit up for all 17 games, the Cowboys are not going to hide their depth at safety, and have the versatility to use all of the players here to their advantage. Markquese Bell is now back at his natural position of safety after playing linebacker for Quinn. Playing on the second level as an enforcing box safety against the run may still be a needed role for the Cowboys defense that Bell can handle while they sort