Dak Prescott passed for 179 yards and one touchdown in the visiting Dallas Cowboys’ 33-17 season-opening victory over the Cleveland Browns, who had just agreed to the biggest deal in NFL history hours earlier.
After accepting a $240 million, four-year agreement, Prescott completed 19 of 32 passes; he did not need to do much more. Dallas took a 20-3 lead at the half and kept Cleveland in check after that, limiting them to just one first down. On 70 plays, the Browns could only muster 230 yards.
Before the Cowboys opened up a 24-point lead in the third quarter, Deshaun Watson was mainly unsuccessful. He ended the day 24-of-45 throwing for 169 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. Cleveland just gained 93 yards from rush plays and
Dustin Hopkins’ 51-yard field goal gave the Browns the lead just over 5 1/2 minutes into the contest, but Dallas controlled the remainder of the play. A 27-point scoring streak was ignited by Prescott’s 21-yard touchdown ball to Brandin Cooks, putting the Cowboys ahead for good.
With 5:15 remaining in the first half, Ezekiel Elliott made it 14-3 with a 3-yard scoring run. In the final 2:06 of the half, kicker Brandon Aubrey added 40- and 57-yard field goals to give the team a 20-3 advantage at the half.
With 12:59 remaining in the third quarter, KaVontae Turpin returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown, increasing the Cowboys’ lead to 27-3. On Cleveland’s next play, Watson hit Jerry Jeudy for a 6-yard strike.
The teams each received 11 flags for penalties, which made the game somewhat careless. No offensive unit amassed 300 yards.
