Cowboys Week 1 Good, Bad and Ugly

FRISCO — Before Sunday afternoon came around, the Dallas Cowboys' starters had not played a single snap since an embarrassing NFC Wild Card round loss. That letdown combined with the drama of extensions dragging up until kickoff, arguably no team in the NFL faced more pressure than "America's Team" right out of the gate.

But the Cowboys used their 33-17 drubbing of the Cleveland Browns to send a message. While the schematics may have changed since the 2023 season, the product resembled that which suffocated its inferior opponents throughout the campaign.

Here's Dallas Week 1 "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'' ...

Good — Cowboys Defense Dominates Deshaun Watson: The build-up to this contest revolved around quarterback Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and the buzz of contract extensions. However, the Dallas defense controlled this game from start to finish.

All the helpings of the Cowboys defense in recent years were present: Micah Parsons wrecking havoc, Trevon Diggs intercepting passes and the entire group overwhelming a hapless quarterback.

But there's a different feel with Mike Zimmer at the helm. Not only did the Cowboys look more disciplined, they were the tougher team by a significant margin.

Up front, Dallas maintained gap integrity in the run and kept Watson uncomfortable when dropping back. The revamped linebacker core produced immediately as Eric Kendricks had two sacks and an interception and DeMarvion Overshown led the team in tackles with nine.

Diggs and Jourdan Lewis both showed well and rookie Caelen Carson held his ground against Amari Cooper; Carson nearly intercepted two balls. Donavon Wilson's return to a hard-hitting threat in the middle of the field was another welcome sight.

Related: Diggs Is 'A Bad MF!' Cowboys CB Returns with Interception

This defense is still one of the league's best, but more mature and physical than in years past.

Bad — Second Half Offense Silent: In all three phases, the Cowboys played what Mike McCarthy labels "complementary football" through the first half and early into the third.

By the time they first took the field in the final 30 minutes, the third quarter was nearly halfway through and the score was 27-3.

But Dallas tallied less than 40 yards of offense in the second half. Similar to last season's demolition of the New York Giants in the season opener, the offense did not need to show much of anything in the final stages of the game.

Nonetheless, Prescott and Lamb will need to continue reaffirming their connection with the receiver back in the lineup and the offense should expect a more complete performance going forward.

Related: Cowboys Coach Drops Blunt Take on Dak Prescott's $240M Contract

Ugly — Jake Ferguson Survives Major Injury Scare: The Cowboys starting tight end left the game after an odd buckling of his leg after a tackle. Immediately, he coiled up and grabbed for his knee and was eventually helped off the field.

Related: ‘God is Good!’ Cowboys’ Injured Jake Ferguson Gets MRI Results

Fortunately for Ferguson and the Cowboys, it appears the team, as Prescott puts it "dodged a big one." He's got a knee sprain and a bone bruise ... but it seems any absence of Ferguson will be short-term.

"God is good,'' Ferguson tweeted regarding the results - of his MRI, though it applies to the win as well.