Everything You Need to Know About Cowboys vs. Browns Week 1

The NFL offseason brought enough drama for the Dallas Cowboys that, even though we've known the Cleveland Browns would be their Week 1 opponent for months, most fans haven't spent too much time thinking about this matchup.

This is the perfect test to kick off the season though. The Browns are a tricky stylistic matchup — with an elite defense. But if the Cowboys offense can hang a big point total here, things suddenly start to look very optimistic for the rest of the season.

And no matter what happens, it's going to be a huge relief to officially move from offseason drama to having actual football performances to analyze.

Without any further ado, here's everything fans need to know about the Cowboys-Browns Week 1 showdown.

The Nuts and Bolts: Start Time, How to Watch, Etc.

• Home: Cleveland Browns
• Road: Dallas Cowboys
• Venue: Huntington Bank Field — Cleveland, OH
• Date: September 8, 2024
• Time: 3:25 p.m. CT (4:25 p.m. Eastern, 1:25 p.m. Pacific)
• TV Coverage: FOX
• Radio: 103.5 The Fan (Dallas)

Cowboys vs. Browns Prediction: Dak Has the Answer to the Browns' Strength

The Cowboys-Browns matchup isn't quite as hard to break down as some other games in Week 1, as neither team made many huge offseason changes. And largely this game boils down to the typical "high-octane offense vs. stingy defense" dynamic.

Can Dak Prescott build on his MVP runner-up season from 2023? Can the Browns defense pick up where they left off as one of the best in the league? A lot of that will come down to how well the Cowboys can protect Prescott.

Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle aren't going to force the Browns to devote much energy to worrying about the run. So Myles Garrett and a Browns pass-rush that graded out as PFF's best (just barely edging out the Cowboys themselves) will get to pin their ears back and go all-out to hit Dak.

The Cowboys ranked just No. 14 in pass protection last year, and now rookie Tyler Guyton will have to block either Myles Garrett or Za'Darius Smith on just about every play. That's an absolutely brutal assignment for your debut.

The key, however, is how good Dak is when he's under pressure. he averaged 8.3 yards per attempt when pressured last season, which ranked No. 2 among all passers with 100-plus dropbacks, per PFF.

We shouldn't expect a 500-yard game from Prescott or anything, but he should be able to do enough to keep this offense rolling.

On the other side of the ball, it's hard to believe in the Browns' O until Deshaun Watson shows us anything in terms of improvement. His last 300-yard passing game was on January 3, 2021. It's been almost four years.

A Nick Chubb-less Browns offense is going to have to throw the ball more, and Watson has done nothing to suggest that the Cowboys should be worried about the passing attack.

Prediction: Cowboys 21 - Browns 16

Cowboys vs. Browns Injury Report: Concerning Signs for Cleveland

Official injury reports haven't been released yet, but after Wednesday's practices, things are looking a lot better for the Cowboys than for the Browns on the injury front.

Cowboys (9/4)

• Damone Clark (knee) — Full
• Marshawn Kneeland (knee) — Full
• Israel Mukuamu (groin) — Full
• Mazi Smith (Achilles) — Full
• John Stephens (hamstring) — Limited
• Juanyeh Thomas (groin) — Full

Browns (9/4)

• David Bell (quad) — Limited
• Jack Conklin (knee) — Limited
• Jordan Hicks (calf) — Limited
• Maurice Hurst (hamstring) — Limited
• Jerry Jeudy (knee) — Full
• Quinton Jefferson (Achilles) — Limited
• Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (hand) — Full
• Dalvin Tomlinson (knee) — Limited
• Nathaniel Watson (quad) — Limited
• Jedrick Wills (knee) — Limited
• Alex Wright (elbow) — Full

Weather Report: Beautiful Weather for Football

The weather forecast in Cleveland for Sunday is pretty ideal for September football. There's no rain in the forecast as of writing (though rain is called for on Saturday, so keep an eye on that moving), and wind speeds are low enough that they shouldn't have a significant impact on quarterbacks or kickers.

A high of 67 degrees means heat shouldn't be an issue, and neither should that biting Cleveland cold.

You couldn't ask for better weather to allow these teams to kick off the season playing with whatever style they'd like, rather than having to adapt to the conditions.

Cowboys vs. Browns Betting Odds: A Surprising Underdog

Spread: DAL +2.5 (-110) | CLE -2.5 (-110)
Moneyline: DAL (+120) | CLE (-142)
Total: 40.5 — Over (-118) | Under (-104)

The Cowboys are surprising 2.5-point underdogs on the point spread on FanDuel Sportsbook. This has Cowboys fans feeling mighty disrespected, even with Cleveland getting the home-field advantage.

The moneyline, when we adjust for the cut that the sportsbook takes, gives the Cowboys a projected 43.65% chance of winning the game, compared to 56.35% for the Browns. A winning $10 bet on the Cowboys would return $12 in profit, while it would take a $14.20 bet on the Browns to return $10 in profit.

The over/under tells us why Cleveland is favored here. Set at a combined 40.5 total points, oddsmakers are calling for a low-scoring game. When you consider the team identities, this points to the Browns defense being the difference-maker.

Cowboys vs. Browns Matchup History: A Story of Recent Domination

The Cowboys and Browns have met a total of 29 times, with the Browns holding a 16-13 edge in the all-time series. Of course, that includes a 12-game stretch in the 1960s that saw Cleveland go 11-1. Things have been mighty lopsided since then.

The teams have only met five times since 2000, with Dallas going 4-1 in those contests. Cleveland did, however, win the last meeting with a 49-38 victory in a shootout back in October 2020.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.