HATE, HATE, HATE: 3 REASONS FOR COWBOYS TO BE LESS THAN ENTHUSIASTIC VS BROWNS

The regular season kicks off for the Dallas Cowboys in less than 48 hours. On Saturday, the team wll travel to Ohio, readying for their Sunday matchup against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1. These aren't the Browns of old and the Cowboys will hate some of the things this matchup brings.

Both teams are coming off disappointing playoff losses to end their 2023, so getting out to a quick start would be a good way to build towards another postseason appearance. The teams matched up against each other to open the 2008 season with the Cowboys getting the better of that contest, but Kevin Stefanski's team is in better position to win this game. It won't be easy to beat the Browns at home. They have good defense capable of making things difficult for Dallas.

Here are three things the Cowboys will hate about playing the Browns in Week 1.

Facing Myles Garrett

While the Cowboys have an elite pass rusher in Micah Parsons, the Browns employ their own in Myles Garrett. The 2023 Defensive Player of the Year will make things difficult for a Cowboys' offensive line that will start two rookies, one of whom will find himself matched up against Garrett for much of the game.

Garrett is a five-time All-Pro who's had double-digit sacks in six straight years, and he also had 17 tackles for a loss to go along with 30 quarterback hits in 2023. There's little doubt the veteran defensive end can wreck the Cowboys' offense, who will be relying on rookie Tyler Guyton to slow Garrett down.

The Browns will surely try to line up Garrett against the inexperienced left tackle, who has been impressive in his improvement, but is still going to have some growing pains. Garrett isn't the ideal first matchup for Guyton, but Dallas will have to hope the rookie is up to the task. The young left tackle is taking the challenge in stride, but the Cowboys can't love him playing against an elite defensive player to start his career.

Top passing defense

The Cowboys had one of the best passing offenses last season, and QB Dak Prescott led the league in touchdown passes with 36. At times it looked easy for Prescott and the passing game, but things won't be as smooth against the Browns' secondary.

Cleveland allowed the fewest yards a game through the air last season, at just 164.7 yards allowed, and they were tied for fourth in interceptions with 18. It's an elite secondary that boasts one of the best cornerback trios in the league.

In his seventh season, CB Denzel Ward has 15 career picks, and is a three-time Pro Bowl player. Ward is coming out of concussion protocol, but is expected to play.

Greg Newsome has blossomed into one of the top young CBs in the league and is coming off his best season where he had two interceptions and a career-high 14 passed defensed. The fourth-year CB had a hamstring injury that saw him miss all of training camp, but he's a Pro Bowl caliber corner. The conditioning might be in question for Newsome, not the talent.

The Browns also have a third quality CB in Martin Emerson Jr. The third-year corner led the Browns in interceptions last season with four, and tied for the team high in pass defenses with 14. With teams shying away from Ward and Newsome, they tried to pick on Emerson, who proved he shouldn't be thrown at either.

This is one of the toughest passing defenses to face in the NFL and the Cowboys get the Browns right out of the gate with a quarterback who hasn't taken a single preseason snap. Prescott and the passing game should win some of the battles, but this isn't the easiest matchup for the Cowboys in Week 1.

Good receiving options

Despite playing with five different QBs last year, the Browns managed to have a good passing offense, and it's led by a former Cowboy wide receiver.

Amari Cooper is the No. 1 WR for the Browns and he thrived no matter who was throwing him the ball. The 1,250 yards receiving in 2023 was a career-high for Cooper, who also caught 75 balls and five touchdowns. Cooper still has games where he doesn't show up in the stats column, he had six games of under 50 yards receiving, but that could be attributed to the QB carousel. The veteran WR is still one of the best route runners in the league and is prone to big games.

The Browns also traded for former Denver Broncos first round pick Jerry Jeudy, who was underperforming with his old team. Jeudy hasn't hit the 1,000-yard marker in any of his first four seasons, but he's got the ability to be a great compliment to Cooper. His best season was two years ago when he had 67 receptions for 972 yards and six scores, so Jeudy has the skills to be a great WR, he just hasn't found his groove yet.

Speedy wide out Elijah Moore and second-year receiver Cedric Tillman are part of the aerial attack. Moore brings an element of speed and can be used out of the backfield when the Browns get creative on offense, and while Tillman's rookie season was a disaster, the expectation is that he'll make a big jump in Year 2.

Cleveland's passing game is more than just their WRs though, tight end David Njoku also adds a level that makes them difficult to defend. Njoku set career-highs in receptions (81), yards (882) and touchdowns (6) last season, all of which was inside the top six at the position. Most of that damage was done with Joe Flacco at QB, but Njoku remains a big part of the Browns' offense.

The Cowboys will have to deal with Cleveland's passing attack with a thinning secondary. The defense lost one of their top CBs when DaRon Bland went down with a foot injury, and then rookie Caelen Carson, who is expected to start in Bland's place, showed up on the injury report with a knee issue.

Carson was a full participant and should play, but the rookie has a tough assignment to start his career. Trevon Diggs is also ready to go but expecting him to be back to his old form less than a year after tearing his ACL is wishful thinking.

Jourdan Lewis brings veteran experience and is a great slot corner to round out the top of the CB group. However, Andrew Booth hasn't shown much consistency and Israel Mukuamu needs to be ready to step up.

Stefanski is one of the better offensive minds in the league and the Cowboys have a tough challenge on defense to start the season, especially defending the pass.

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Hate, Hate, Hate: 3 reasons for Cowboys to be less than enthusiastic vs Browns

2024-09-07T14:12:43Z dg43tfdfdgfd