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2024 Week 1 · Sun, Sep 8, 2024 · FirstEnergy Stadium
33
17
Dallas Cowboys 33–17. Biggest swing: Q1 8:21, CLE +9% win probability on one snap. Played in 17 mph wind — weigh that when reading the passing lines.
The game in one curve — scrub to replay it
(8:21) (Shotgun) 4-D.Prescott pass deep right to 88-C.Lamb pushed ob at CLE 26 for 34 yards (1-J.Thornhill).
How the points landed
(9:28) 7-D.Hopkins 51 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-47-C.Hughlett, Holder-13-C.Bojorquez.
Score after this play: DAL 0 — CLE 3(6:59) (Shotgun) 4-D.Prescott pass deep left to 3-B.Cooks for 21 yards, TOUCHDOWN. (kick good)
Score after this play: DAL 7 — CLE 3(5:18) (Shotgun) 15-E.Elliott up the middle for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN. (kick good)
Score after this play: DAL 14 — CLE 3(2:11) 17-B.Aubrey 57 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-44-T.Sieg, Holder-5-B.Anger.
Score after this play: DAL 17 — CLE 3(:55) 17-B.Aubrey 40 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-44-T.Sieg, Holder-5-B.Anger.
Score after this play: DAL 20 — CLE 3(13:15) 13-C.Bojorquez punts 49 yards to DAL 40, Center-47-C.Hughlett. 9-K.Turpin for 60 yards, TOUCHDOWN. (kick good)
Score after this play: DAL 27 — CLE 3(8:46) (Shotgun) 4-D.Watson pass short right to 3-J.Jeudy for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN. (kick good)
Score after this play: DAL 27 — CLE 10(1:31) 17-B.Aubrey 50 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-44-T.Sieg, Holder-5-B.Anger.
Score after this play: DAL 30 — CLE 10(11:55) 17-B.Aubrey 46 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-44-T.Sieg, Holder-5-B.Anger.
Score after this play: DAL 33 — CLE 10(:33) (No Huddle) 34-J.Ford right tackle for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN. (kick good)
Score after this play: DAL 33 — CLE 17Down-to-down truth
| Metric | Cowboys | Browns |
|---|---|---|
| Offensive plays | 59 | 70 |
| Total yards | 266 (edge) | 230 |
| Yards per play | 4.5 (edge) | 3.3 |
| Expected points added / play | -0.11 (edge) | -0.27 |
| Success rate | 36% (edge) | 26% |
| Dropback rate | 59% | 80% |
| Dropback efficiency (EPA/play) | -0.19 (edge) | -0.35 |
| Rush efficiency (EPA/play) | 0.01 | 0.04 (edge) |
| Third downs | 4/14 (edge) | 2/15 |
| Red-zone trips → TDs | 0 → 0 | 0 → 0 |
| Explosive plays (10+ rush / 20+ pass) | 5 (edge) | 4 |
| First downs gained on snaps | 15 (edge) | 13 |
| Sacks taken | 3 (edge) | 6 |
| Turnovers | 0 (edge) | 2 |
Cowboys won the down-to-down efficiency fight: -0.11 expected points added per play vs -0.27.
Who moved the needle
Passing · DAL
19/32, 179 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
-6.7 expected points added · -6.6% completion over expected
Passing · CLE
24/45, 169 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
-23.1 expected points added · -8.0% completion over expected
Possession by possession
| # | Team | Start | Plays | Scrim yds | Clock | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DAL | DAL 33 | 5 | 9 | 2:21 | Punt | |
| 2 | CLE | DAL 46 | 6 | 23 | 3:16 | Field goal +3 | |
| 3 | DAL | DAL 30 | 8 | 70 | 2:28 | Touchdown +7 | |
| 4 | CLE | CLE 25 | 5 | 12 | 2:10 | Punt | |
| 5 | DAL | DAL 10 | 9 | 31 | 3:35 | Punt | |
| 6 | CLE | CLE 20 | 4 | -5 | 1:10 | Punt | |
| 7 | DAL | DAL 29 | 4 | 2 | 2:04 | Punt | |
| 8 | CLE | CLE 23 | 4 | 8 | 1:45 | Punt | |
| 9 | DAL | DAL 22 | 12 | 74 | 5:56 | Touchdown +7 | |
| 10 | CLE | CLE 20 | 5 | 3 | 0:41 | Punt | |
| 11 | DAL | DAL 44 | 5 | 17 | 2:28 | Field goal +3 | |
| 12 | CLE | CLE 30 | 3 | 6 | 0:20 | Interception | |
| 13 | DAL | CLE 23 | 4 | 1 | 0:55 | Field goal +3 | |
| 14 | CLE | CLE 27 | 5 | 7 | 0:42 | Punt | |
| 15 | DAL | DAL 40 | 2 | 12 | 0:09 | End of half | |
| 16 | CLE | CLE 25 | 5 | -9 | 2:01 | Defensive touchdown | |
| 17 | CLE | CLE 25 | 14 | 75 | 4:17 | Touchdown +7 | |
| 18 | DAL | DAL 30 | 5 | 3 | 0:55 | Punt | |
| 19 | CLE | CLE 14 | 4 | -4 | 1:12 | Punt | |
| 20 | DAL | DAL 13 | 4 | 4 | 1:18 | Punt | |
| 21 | CLE | CLE 45 | 4 | 1 | 1:22 | Turnover on downs | |
| 22 | DAL | CLE 46 | 6 | 19 | 2:28 | Field goal +3 | |
| 23 | CLE | CLE 32 | 5 | 11 | 2:20 | Turnover on downs | |
| 24 | DAL | CLE 38 | 6 | 20 | 2:16 | Field goal +3 | |
| 25 | CLE | CLE 30 | 8 | 48 | 2:45 | Interception | |
| 26 | DAL | DAL 23 | 4 | 4 | 1:44 | Punt | |
| 27 | CLE | CLE 36 | 16 | 54 | 6:53 | Touchdown +7 | |
| 28 | DAL | DAL 30 | 2 | 0 | 0:29 | End of game |
9 of 28 drives ended in points. Longest march: Browns gained 75 scrimmage yards over 14 plays for a touchdown.
Full stat lines
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dak Prescott | 19/32 | 179 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -6.7 |
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel Elliott | 10 | 40 | 4.0 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Rico Dowdle | 8 | 26 | 3.3 | 0 | -1.3 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 0 | 0.8 |
| Brandin Cooks | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | -0.7 |
| Deuce Vaughn | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | -0.1 |
| Dak Prescott | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Cooper Rush | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CeeDee Lamb | 5 | 10 | 61 | 0 | 32% | -2.2 |
| Brandin Cooks | 4 | 7 | 40 | 1 | 23% | -0.1 |
| Jalen Brooks | 1 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 3% |
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeMarvion Overshown | 5 | 6 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Kendricks | 4 | 3 | 2.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jourdan Lewis | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trevon Diggs |
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deshaun Watson | 24/45 | 169 | 1 | 2 | 6 | -23.1 |
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerome Ford | 12 | 44 | 3.7 | 1 |
Closing number vs result
Browns closed -2.5 and lost outright — an upset against the closing number.
Total closed 42; the game landed 50 — over by 8.0.
Conditions and crew
Wind at 17 mph is the kind that drags passing depth and kicking range — weigh it when reading the splits.
| 1.1 |
| Hunter Luepke | 2 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 6% | 1.3 |
| Jake Ferguson | 3 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 16% | -1.6 |
| Jalen Tolbert | 1 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 6% | -0.5 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | 2 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 6% | -0.2 |
| Rico Dowdle | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3% | 0.3 |
| Kavontae Turpin | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3% | -0.5 |
| 3 |
| 1 |
| 0.0 |
| 1 |
| 2 |
| Damone Clark | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Demarcus Lawrence | 3 | 1 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Malik Hooker | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Caelen Carson | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Osa Odighizuwa | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marshawn Kneeland | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| -1.2 |
| Deshaun Watson | 5 | 39 | 7.8 | 0 | 3.5 |
| Pierre Strong | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | 1.8 |
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Njoku | 4 | 5 | 44 | 0 | 12% | 1.0 |
| Jordan Akins | 3 | 4 | 27 | 0 | 9% | 1.5 |
| Jerome Ford | 6 | 7 | 25 | 0 | 16% | -2.8 |
| Jerry Jeudy | 3 | 8 | 25 | 1 | 19% | 0.9 |
| Pierre Strong | 2 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 7% | 0.6 |
| Amari Cooper | 2 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 21% | -2.2 |
| Elijah Moore | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 14% | -10.8 |
| Cedric Tillman | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2% | -0.3 |
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Thornhill | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Martin Emerson | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jordan Hicks | 2 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Za'Darius Smith | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dalvin Tomlinson | 1 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Devin Bush | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grant Delpit | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Fields | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Wright | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
