How Cowboys can defeat Browns in Week 1

After going 1-2 in the preseason, the Dallas Cowboys will open the regular season as underdogs against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1. If they do the following, it’s a winnable game.

Find the red zone

The Browns gave up a league-low 270.2 yards per game last year, but according to Fox Sports, Cleveland had the NFL’s worst red zone defense, allowing a touchdown 71.4% of the time. Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott threw 27 touchdowns from inside the opponent’s 20-yard line in 2023, where former Cowboys running back Tony Pollard also had five rushing scores.

With Pollard now in Tennessee, players like Ezekiel Elliott must pick up the slack. Both of Dowdle’s two career touchdowns came from the inside red zone, as did all three of Elliott’s scores with the Patriots last season. 

Avoid third down

The Cowboys have little chance of moving the ball if they can’t connect on early downs. In addition to having the league’s top passing defense, Cleveland led the NFL in third down league last season, shutting down opponents on 70.9% of drives.

Prescott had a respectable 116.7 quarterback rating with 1,409 yards and 11 touchdowns on third down last year, but five of those scores went to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who could be rusty after missing all of training camp before signing a four-year, $136M deal in late August.

Find Jake Ferguson

While Lamb was busy leading NFL receivers with 135 receptions last year, the former first-round pick quietly had a breakout season with 71 catches for 761 yards and five touchdowns and finished the season with 10 catches for 93 yards and three touchdowns against Green Bay in the NFC wild-card game.