Browns draw flags, run little and have 1 big secondary breakdown vs. Cowboys | Takeaways

CLEVELAND — The Browns woke up Sunday looking to get off to a fast start to the season. They went to bed that night looking to recover from an opening-day 33-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys .

It was a beautiful sunny September day in Cleveland. It was the exact opposite on the field in terms of all-around performance .

The Browns couldn't block, struggled to pass, didn't appear to want to run, whiffed on special-teams tackles and made enough mistakes on defense to make it a three-phase failure. However, it was just one loss, a bad one, but just one at the end of the day.

As the morning dawns on the day after, here's a look at some takeaways from Sunday's disappointment against Dallas.

Cleveland Browns can't get out of own way with penalty flags

There were flags all over the field for both teams Sunday. There were actually 11 of them for each.

However, it seemed the flags came at the most inopportune times for the Browns. It created a one-step-forward, three-steps-backward effect.

It started on the first series, when both starting tackles — James Hudson III and Dawand Jones — drew 5-yard penalties to force them to settle for a 51-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins. It carried forward into the second possession, with 10 yards worth of penalties, one on the kickoff and one on first down, pushing their starting field position backward again.

"Yeah, penalties will always hamstring you on offense," wide receiver Amari Cooper said. "Obviously we got to do better with that. We can't ever start from behind the eight ball, so it's something that we have to work on for sure."

Eight of the Browns' 11 penalties were on the offense. They were flagged for 64 total yards, including 39 on seven first-half penalties.

There were a lot of reasons why the Browns offense spun its wheels so much Sunday. The self-inflicted penalties were the top of the list.

Cleveland Browns running game quiet against Dallas Cowboys

The Browns averaged 4.9 yards per rushing attempt against the Cowboys. That's good.

The Browns ran the ball just 19 times against the Cowboys. That's not so good.

The question is if that was by design or by game flow. The Browns did throw it 45 times against the Cowboys, while quarterback Deshaun Watson ran it another five times.

Take out the Watson runs, and the Browns only ran it 14 times for 54 yards. Jerome Ford carried it 12 times for 33 yards on his own.

“We got into a lot of passing situations,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “I don’t know how many rushes we had of true runs, but it was more game script than the plan. You get behind, you have to throw the ball a little bit and they have some good pass rushers. We have to protect better as a group, and it starts with us up front and we want to do better.”

Jerry Jeudy finds his way to the end zone in Cleveland Browns debut

Jerry Jeudy's Browns debut was relatively quiet. However, compared to the rest of the offense, it virtually screamed out loud.

Jeudy accounted for the Browns' first touchdown, a 6-yard catch with 8:42 remaining in the third quarter that pulled Cleveland within 27-10. It was the only touchdown for the Browns until Ford's 2-yard run with 29 seconds remaining.

“Yeah, it feel good," Jeudy said. "I would've feel better with a W, though.”

The former first-round draft pick acquired from the Denver Broncos in March was targeted eight times, which was one fewer than Cooper's team-high nine targets. He finished with three catches for 25 yards.

Jeudy also gave the Browns a momentary scare when he left the game with 52 seconds left in the third quarter grabbing at the back of his right leg. He was back on the field, though, to open the fourth quarter.

Miscommunication leads to Dallas Cowboys early lead

The Browns secondary, especially their cornerbacks, are a strength of the team. They're also playing their first game together this season.

That may have been a little bit of what led to the breakdown in the defensive backfield that allowed Brandin Cooks to get so wide open on a 21-yard first-quarter touchdown. It was clear something was off between cornerback Martin Emerson Jr., nickel Greg Newsome II and safety Juan Thornhill, especially Emerson and Thornhill, which allowed for the coverage bust.

"Miscommunication," Emerson said. "Got to be better, feel me. Just got to be on the same page, line up faster, when we get in the speed breaks and just communicate, start fast."

That touchdown, though, gave the Cowboys the lead for good at 7-3. The Browns didn't allow another passing score, but they never got out of the deficit either.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns draw flags, run little and have 1 big secondary breakdown vs. Cowboys | Takeaways