Browns winners, losers vs Cowboys: A long game with few positives for Cleveland

It was a season opener to forget for the Browns on Sunday.

Cleveland lost 33-17 to the Dallas Cowboys at Huntington Bank Field to start the season 0-1 for the first time since 2021.

"By no means is this season over for Cleveland," new Fox color analyst Tom Brady said at the end of the broadcast. "There's a lot of football left. They need to get some of their guys back."

There were obvious losers and a few winners from Sunday's game. Here they are:

Winner: Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott

Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott was arguably the biggest winner of the day hours before the game even started. After contract negotiations went on all offseason, the Cowboys and Prescott finally came to an agreement on a new contract. And what a contract he received. Prescott is reportedly getting a four-year deal worth $240 million , with $231 million guaranteed, making him the NFL's highest-paid player of all time.

Winner: The case for playing in the NFL preseason

The Browns played very few starters during the preseason again this year, and it showed. The offense looked out of sync, especially in the first half. At halftime, the Browns had a single first down and 54 total yards. On defense, the Browns had several little penalties, including neutral zone infractions from Myles Garrett and Maurice Hurst.

Loser: The Browns offense, and its lack of big plays

The Browns offense did very little, outside of a 75-yard scoring drive in the second half. The team had just two plays of 20 yards or more. Quarterback Deshaun Watson averaged only 3.8 yards per pass. The team's top wide receivers — Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore — had just eight receptions on 23 targets. It didn't help that Watson was sacked six times.

Loser: Myles Garrett's bid for winning back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Award

This really doesn't have anything to do with how Myles Garrett played on Sunday. He was fine and got pressure when multiple Dallas linemen weren't blocking him. This is more to do with Micah Parsons of the Cowboys. When he wasn't directly getting into Watson's face, he was creating enough pressure for another Cowboys defender like DeMarcus Lawrence to get free and get a sack. Parsons showed why he's in the same tier as Garrett, San Francisco's Nick Bosa and Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt.

Parsons finished Sunday's game with a sack, a pass deflection and four quarterback hits.

Loser: The offensive tackle conundrum for the Browns

Injuries are a given in the NFL, but starting the season without their starting offensive tackles was bad news for the Browns. They need left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. and right tackle Jack Conklin back badly. Although right tackle Dawand Jones played well as a rookie last season, against the Cowboys he committed three of the team's 11 penalties. James Hudson III, now in his fourth season, showed why he's better on the right side than the left side. If Wills can't come back soon from a knee injury , the Browns offense could be in trouble as it awaits the return of running back Nick Chubb.

Winner: The Browns' playoff chances

Surprised to see this one? It may only be the first week of the season, but the Browns got a sliver of good news when it comes to the playoffs. The Browns may have lost in lopsided fashion, but AFC North foes Baltimore and Cincinnati also lost this week. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the only winning team in the AFC North. From a divisional standpoint, things could have been much worse for the Browns after Week 1.

Winner: The Black Keys

Since they canceled a nationwide arena tour earlier this year, we haven't heard much from The Black Keys. The Akron rockers were back, though, as Dawg Pound Captains before Sunday's game. They even played a song during the game. Welcome back, boys.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns winners, losers vs Cowboys: A long game with few positives for Cleveland