Cleveland had routinely weakened quarterbacks last season, but the Browns couldn’t keep them healthy.
The Cowboys had the runner-up MVP spot under center, but Dallas was wrecked by a player hit in another playoff disappointment.
Refreshed and motivated to return to the postseason, the Cowboys head to Cleveland for a Week 1 matchup that is set to be determined by quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Deshaun Watson.
Prescott and the Cowboys went 12-5 last season, won the NFC East, and hosted a playoff game. With Prescott losing for the fifth time in the postseason and having just two career playoff wins, the national narrative since a home-and-home blowout by the Green Bay Packers ended Dallas’ 2023 season has been about more than just Pro-Dak.
Dallas wide receiver Brandin Cooks took over Prescott’s defense Wednesday as the Cowboys take on the challenge of solving Cleveland’s ragged defense with defensive end Myles Garrett front and center.
“The guy shows up every year, year after year. He shows up, he leads his team,” Cooks said of Prescott. “You can’t do it all by yourself. A lot of those great quarterbacks I’ve been around, Tom (Brady) and Drew (Brees), don’t get me wrong, they won a lot of games, they won a lot of Super Bowls, but they also had a lot of help, didn’t they?
“We, the players around us (Prescott), have to step up as well. So when we feel that disrespect, I take it personally and as his teammates, we should take it personally.”
Prescott and the Cowboys have been at an impasse over the status of his contract since the end of last season. He is in the final year of a four-year, $160 million deal and can’t seem to keep him on the franchise tag.
Jones has less money after offering a four-year, $136 million contract extension to add record-setting receiver CeeDee Lamb for Week 1 after he missed training camp. And a bigger payday could be around the corner for pass rusher Micah Parsons this time next year.
Lamb, 25, was named first-team All-Pro and set franchise records in 2023 with 135 receptions for 1,749 yards. He’ll face Browns cornerback Denzel Ward in a popcorn-worthy matchup to focus on this week. Lamb said he’s encouraging Prescott to stick with the Cowboys.
“I have no doubt they will come to an agreement. We all know I want Dak here. Jerry wants Dak here, too, so let’s keep this under control and put an end to the speculation,” Lamb said.
Watson has his own battle to fight. The Browns made the playoffs with Joe Flacco’s arm restored, following a shoulder injury Watson suffered that sidelined him for the season.
With a total of 12 appearances since the end of the 2020 season, Watson said he has recovered from his injury and is ready to prove himself. That’s a tall order considering he’s in the middle of a five-year, $230 million deal that the team fully guaranteed when they acquired him from the Houston Texans.
“Whether you won MVP or didn’t play last year, it’s a new year,” Watson said Wednesday. “In this league, if you focus on last year, you’re going to be left behind.”
The Browns will be without former All-Pro running back Nick Chubb for at least the first four games of the season following a devastating knee injury in Week 2 of last season. Jerome Ford, who teamed with Kareem Hunt to take over Chubb’s workload in 2023, is the primary running back the Cowboys will face to start the 2024 season.
Meanwhile, Ezekiel Elliott is back with Dallas and is the No. 1 depth chart pick. Elliott, a first-round draft pick in 2016, the year Prescott was a fourth-round pick, reunites with Dallas after spending last season as a backup with the New England Patriots.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy reiterated that there is a committee that will address the running back position, and that will include Rico Dowdle. And for anyone who reacted to the Week 1 rankings, McCarthy had another message for them and the team heading into the season.
“I have 21 games planned,” he said, referring to a long-term vision of a season that would culminate in the Super Bowl.
