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Week 1 Game Recap: Dallas Cowboys 28, Cleveland Browns 10
What you need to know
| Dallas Cowboys |
Dallas operated efficiently on offense. Tony Romo marched the team down the field for touchdowns on three of the four first half possessions. This was due to the offensive line giving Romo plenty of time in the pocket to find the open receiver. In the second half, Romo was under some pressure but was able to stand in the pocket and connect with his receivers.
The offensive line created huge holes for the Dallas backs to run through all game long. Marion Barber had no problem finding wide running lanes to go through before leaving the game for x-rays on his ribs in the fourth quarter. There was little drop off in the rushing attack when he was replaced by Felix Jones.
The Cowboys receivers were consistently getting wide open, and had no problems catching accurate passes by Romo. Jason Witten and Terrell Owens were frequently open on mid range routes that took advantage of holes in the zone coverage.
| Cleveland Browns |
The Browns looked like they were still not operating in sync for most of the game, as they were rarely able to put together any type of sustained drive. Their lone touchdown drive was aided by two key Dallas penalties on third down that kept the drive alive, the final one being a pass interference penalty in the end zone that set up a first and goal from the two yard line. The final scoring drive occurred in the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach and the Dallas defense was playing back.
Cleveland runners were not able to consistently get into any type of rhythm until the fourth quarter. The longest run of the game was a 24 yard carry on first and ten with Dallas playing in a prevent defense and a 21 point lead. Jamal Lewis was the leading rusher, but appeared to lose effectiveness until he was given an extended break in the third quarter.
With the Browns receivers short handed due to injury, Kellen Winslow became the most reliable receiver and the one person Derek Anderson looked to when the Browns needed a tough catch. However, as Cleveland fell behind Anderson looked to his other receivers on deeper routes.
What you ought to know
| QB Tony Romo, Pass: 24 - 32 - 320 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
Romo was able to effectively move the Cowboys down the field primarily by passing. He started out by completing his first nine passes, and was rarely off target on his throws. Romo had plenty of time to throw in the first half and was able to pick apart the Cleveland secondary by going 13 of 16 for 175 and one TD. In the second half the Browns were able to get some pressure on him, but he was still able to move around in the pocket enough to find his receivers. On one play Romo was hit on the chin after he got the pass off and had to receive stitches on the sidelines after the drive was over. He did not miss any playing time and did not seem to be negatively affected by the stitches.
| RB Marion Barber III, Rush: 16 - 80 - 2, Rec: 3 - 21 - 0 (5 targets) |
Barber was main focus of the offense. He saw the ball on the first four offensive plays and scored both of his touchdowns on short runs, the first coming when he dove over the top of a pile from one yard out on the opening drive. The offensive line opened up big holes, and Barber used his speed to get to the second defensive level before being brought down. He did have to leave the game in the fourth quarter to get his ribs x-rayed.
| RB Felix Jones, Rush: 9 - 62 - 1 (1 targets) |
Jones was the main beneficiary of Marion Barber's injury. He appeared in the game in the fourth quarter and took his first NFL touch into the end zone on an 11 yard run up the middle. Jones displayed his speed by getting through open holes and into the secondary before being brought down by the defense. Jones was the primary ball carrier for most of the fourth quarter, but did split time with Tashard Choice in the second half of the quarter. Jones did make an excellent blitz pick up that gave Tony Romo time to complete a pass downfield for a first down to keep the final Dallas drive going.
| RB Tashard Choice, Rush: 5 - 26 - 0, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (1 targets) |
Choice was part of the committee of backs that Dallas used to run out the clock in the fourth quarter when Marion Barber left the game. He caught his only target for a three yard completion that was wiped out due to a holding penalty.
| RB Deon Anderson (1 targets) |
Anderson was not able to bring in his only target, but the play was nullified due to a holding penalty.
| WR Patrick Crayton, Rec: 6 - 82 - 0 (5 targets) |
Crayton was the main beneficiary of the Browns defensive backs concentrating on Jason Witten and Terrell Owens during the first half. With the defensive backfield concentrating on the two main receivers Crayton was able to get open and provide Romo with a good target. He was the third receiver when Dallas went to a three or four receiver offensive set.
| WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 5 - 87 - 1 (9 targets) |
Owens looked very much in sync with Tony Romo. He was able to find holes in the zone coverage and gave Romo a good target to hit. Romo hit Owens in stride on pass patterns allowing him to gain good yardage after the catch. Cleveland did try and disrupt his pass patterns by having a cornerback jam him at the line of scrimmage, but that strategy resulted in two hands to the face penalties on the back assigned to cover him. Owens did come close to a second score at the end of the first half when it appeared that he had gone into the end zone on a pass completion but was ruled to be down at the one yard line.
| WR Isaiah Stanback, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (2 targets) |
Stanback saw his only two targets while playing in garbage time during the fourth quarter.
| TE Jason Witten, Rec: 6 - 96 - 0 (9 targets) |
When Dallas lined up in three and four receiver sets Jason Witten would line up as a receiver to take advantage of his pass catching abilities. Witten has good hands and may be the most reliable Cowboy receiver. Three of his receptions resulted in first downs that kept scoring drives alive.
| TE Tony Curtis, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Curtis caught his only target on a crossing pattern in the second quarter.
| PK Nick Folk 0 - 0 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points |
Folk did not attempt a field goal and was perfect on his extra point attempts.
| DAL Rush Defense |
Dallas was effective in keeping Jamal Lewis in check. Cleveland was not able to establish a rushing attack until late in the game when Dallas was playing defense primarily against the pass.
| DAL Pass Defense |
The Cowboys defensive line was able to get pressure on Derek Anderson and disrupt the Brown passing game. The defensive backs did well against the Brown receivers with the absence of Terrance Newman, but the Browns were short on experienced receivers. The defense did have two key third down plays that would have stopped the only touchdown drive overturned by penalty.
| QB Derek Anderson, Pass: 11 - 24 - 114 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 4 - 24 - 0 |
Derek Anderson was under pressure by the Cowboys front seven for most of the game. He was not sacked but was pressured into making throws early and finding his secondary receiver. Anderson did show some rust and timing problems with his receivers that were probably an effect of his missing time in the preseason due to a concussion suffered three weeks prior. The timing problem was evident on the opening drive when he fumbled the ball while pulling back from the center on a third and one. The Browns recovered the ball but an excellent opportunity was wasted and they were forced to punt. He was also unable to connect with Braylon Edwards on some passes, with Edwards dropping some catchable balls.
| RB Jamal Lewis, Rush: 13 - 62 - 0, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (1 targets) |
Lewis appeared to be bothered by his hamstring injury. He started out by taking his first touch, a screen pass, 14 yards for a first down, but appeared to be tentative when he was asked to carry the ball. His longest play from scrimmage came on the final drive in the fourth quarter when he took a handoff up the middle for a 24 yard gain. This was also his first action after getting an extended rest in the third quarter.
| RB Jason Wright, Rush: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets) |
Wright filled in for Jamal Lewis when Cleveland needed to give Lewis a break. Wright has good hands and showed good decision making when asked to carry the ball.
| RB Jerome Harrison (1 targets) |
Harrison only saw limited action as he gave Jamal Lewis a short breather in the third quarter.
| WR Braylon Edwards, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (10 targets) |
Edwards was the most targeted receiver, but he was not the most reliable. He dropped three passes, one of which that was just off of his fingertips would have gone for a long gain had he been able to hold on to the ball. During the first half he appeared to be the primary receiver on most pass routes, and one man that Anderson was looking for to make a big play. Edwards did draw a pass interference penalty in the end zone that led to the only Cleveland touchdown.
| WR Syndric Steptoe, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (2 targets) |
Steptoe was the primary kick returner in the absence of Josh Cribbs and saw two passes thrown his way in the fourth quarter.
| WR Steve Sanders, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (1 targets) |
Sanders saw limited action in the fourth quarter during garbage time.
| WR Donte Stallworth |
Stallworth was a late scratch from the game with a hamstring injury suffered during pregame warm ups.
| TE Kellen Winslow Jr, Rec: 5 - 47 - 1 (6 targets) |
Winslow was the most reliable receiver for the Browns. He was able to come through with the touch catches and the big plays when called upon. Two of his first three receptions resulted in Brown first downs, and his fourth was a touchdown.
| TE Steve Heiden, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (2 targets) |
Heiden was only able to catch one of the two passes thrown his way in the first half.
| PK Phil Dawson 1 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points |
Dawson connected on his only field goal attempt, from 34 yards.
| CLE Rush Defense |
The Browns rush defense was not very effective as Dallas was able to open up huge holes for their running backs to go through as they were not able to get any type of penetration into the Cowboys backfield.
| CLE Pass Defense |
The pass defense was a tale of two halves. In the first half the line was not able to get any pressure on Tony Rom and he was able to find open receivers and make big plays in the passing game. During the second half the line was able to pressure Romo, but he was still able to connect with his receivers. The defensive backs are inexperienced and they were exposed by the bigger and more physical Cowboys receivers.
