Cowboys back Dak Prescott, begin season with rugged Browns

Cleveland crumpled quarterbacks on the regular last season, but the Browns couldn't keep theirs healthy.

The Cowboys had the MVP runner-up under center, but Dallas was destroyed by an up-and-comer in another playoff disappointment.

Retooled and driven to get back to the postseason, the Cowboys travel to Cleveland for a Week 1 matchup destined to be determined by quarterbacks Dak Prescott and Deshaun Watson.

Prescott and the Cowboys went 12-5 last season, won the NFC East and hosted a playoff game. Because Prescott lost for a fifth time in the postseason and has just two career playoff wins, the national narrative since a home-field drubbing at the hands of the Green Bay Packers ended Dallas' 2023 season has been something other than Pro-Dak.

Dallas wide receiver Brandin Cooks took up defense of Prescott on Wednesday as the Cowboys step into the challenge of solving Cleveland's toothy defense with defensive end Myles Garrett front and center.

"The guy shows up every year, year in and year out. Putting up numbers, leading his team," Cooks said of Prescott. "He can't do it all by himself. A lot of those great quarterbacks that I've been with, Tom (Brady) and Drew (Brees), don't get me wrong, they won a lot of games, won a lot of Super Bowls, but they had a lot of help around them as well, right?

"Us players around (Prescott) also got to step up. So when we hear that disrespect, I take that personally, and as his teammates, we should take that personally."

Prescott and the Cowboys have been mired in a standoff over his contract status since last season ended. He's in the final year of a four-year, $160 million deal and cannot be retained with the franchise tag.

It's not as simple as "paying Dak," according to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

Jones is lighter in the wallet after coming to the table to deliver a four-year, $136 million extension to get record-setting receiver CeeDee Lamb in the fold for Week 1 after a training camp holdout. And a bigger payday could be around the corner for pass rusher Micah Parsons by this time next year.

Lamb, 25, earned All-Pro first-team honors and set franchise records in 2023 with 135 receptions for 1,749 yards. He'll be locking up with Browns cornerback Denzel Ward in a popcorn-worthy matchup to focus on this week. Lamb said he's rooting for Prescott to stay with the Cowboys.

"I have no doubt that they're gonna get a deal done. We all know that I want Dak here. Jerry wants Dak here, too, so let's just get this under control and kill the speculation," Lamb said.

Watson has his own battle to fight. The Browns went to the playoffs on the revived arm of Joe Flacco following a season-ending shoulder injury that Watson sustained.

With 12 total starts since the end of the 2020 season, Watson said he's recovered from that injury and is prepared to prove his value. That's a serious ask considering he's in the middle of a five-year, $230 million contract that the team fully guaranteed when he was acquired from the Houston Texans.

"Regardless (of) if you won MVP or if you didn't play last year, it's a new year," Watson said Wednesday. "In this league, if you're focusing on last year, then you're going to get left behind."

The Browns are leaving former All-Pro running back Nick Chubb behind -- at least for the first four games of the campaign -- after a devastating knee injury in Week 2 last season. Jerome Ford, who teamed with Kareem Hunt to take Chubb's workload in 2023, is the lead back facing the Cowboys to start the 2024 season.

Meanwhile, Ezekiel Elliott is back for Dallas and is listed first on the depth chart. Elliott, drafted in the first round in 2016, the year Prescott was picked in the fourth round, reunited with Dallas after spending last season as a backup with the New England Patriots.

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy reiterated that there is a committee approach at running back that will include Rico Dowdle. And for anyone reacting to the Week 1 depth chart, McCarthy had another message for them and the team entering the season opener.

"I have plans for 21 games," he said of the long view of a season that would culminate with the Super Bowl.