Final
Romo, Cowboys too much for Browns
Sep 8, 2008 - 1:31 AM CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- While they fell short of the Super Bowl, the Dallas Cowboys were the best team in the NFC during the regular season last year. They may be again this year.Tony Romo passed for more than 300 yards and a touchdown Sunday as the Cowboys rolled to a season-opening 28-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
Like a year ago, anything short of a Super Bowl appearance will be considered a disappointment for the Cowboys. Still, Dallas has a number of hurdles to overcome. The Cowboys have not won a playoff game in 11 years while their coach - Wade Phillips - and quarterback never have won a postseason contest.
However, Dallas has virtually the same team intact from last season, when it scored an NFC-high 455 points.
Given ample time to throw and rarely pressured, Romo picked apart Cleveland's secondary Sunday, completing 24-of-32 passes for 318 yards. Through three periods, the Cowboys (1-0) burned the Browns with 17 plays of 10 or more yards.
"I thought we were clicking on all cylinders," Phillips said. "(Romo) had tremendous protection for most of the game, particularly early in the game. I thought they had a hard time getting to him."
Dallas moved the ball virtually at will, scoring on three of its first four possessions with drives of 80, 69 and 69 yards. Marion Barber rushed for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns and Romo tossed a 35-yard TD strike to Terrell Owens to give the Cowboys a 21-7 halftime lead.
Barber rushed for 80 yards before leaving midway through the third quarter with bruised ribs.
"We came into a hostile environment where they were 7-1 last year," Phillips said. "We played well in all phases. I thought we were ready to play. The only thing I am worried about is Marion Barber got his ribs banged up."
The Browns' offense struggled most of the day, accumulating just 205 yards. Jamal Lewis, back from a hamstring injury, ran hard for 62 yards on 13 tries, but, the rest of the attack was anemic.
The first time the Cowboys touched the ball, Barber scored on a 1-yard plunge, capping an 80-yard, 10-play drive.
Aided by three defensive penalties, the Browns answered with a 16-play, 78-yard march, with Derek Anderson finding tight Kellen Winslow from 2 yards out at 12:43 of the second quarter.
The high-octane Cowboys immediately counter-punched when Romo hooked up with Owens on the 35-yard strike. Owens' excessive celebration was imitating a sprinter coming out of the starting blocks and it cost the Cowboys 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff.
"You can't have fun, you can't do anything," Owens said. "It is what it is."
Barber added another 1-yard TD run just before halftime and the Cowboys led, 21-7.
In the third quarter, the Cowboys strung together an 86-yard drive to open a 28-7 lead on rookie Felix Jones' 11-yard TD run.
"They just have the total package over there," Browns linebacker Andra Davis said. "They have a good quarterback, good running backs, a great receiver, a great tight end. They also have a huge offensive line. Anybody can probably stand behind that offensive line and make passes."
It could have been even worse, as Owens' 31-yard completion to the Browns 44 early in the third quarter was called back due to an interference penalty on Owens.
The Cowboys missed a chance to add to their 28-7 lead when Romo made his only mistake, throwing a pass that was intercepted in the end zone by cornerback Eric Wright.
Adam Jones, formerly "Pacman," returned to action for the first time in more than a year.
"I've been waiting for this for a long time," Jones said. "It was fun to get out there and be between the lines when it really counts."
After the Browns tied the contest, 7-7, the Cowboys shut down Cleveland's passing game. Anderson did not complete another pass until the fourth quarter, misfiring on his next nine attempts. He finished just 11-of-24 for 114 yards.
Anderson was returning from a concussion in the preseason, but did not make any excuses.
"I went out there and I felt good," he said. "It was a regular game routine for me. I was seeing things pretty well and we just didn't put enough points on the board."
'We had some opportunities to keep ourselves in the game and we didn't take advantage of them," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. "We dropped some balls, dropped an interception and let them throw one over our head."
Trailing by three touchdowns, Crennel opted for Phil Dawson's 34-yard field goal with 10 minutes remaining. The decision drew the ire of the fans at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Coming off a 10-6 season in which they missed the playoffs by a tiebreaker, the Browns also have expectations of playing in January. However, they must improve a defense that ranked 30th in the NFL last season. They did not get off to a good start in that endeavor.
Cleveland dropped to 1-9 in openers - all at home - since returning to the NFL in 1999.
- NFL
FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
DALLAS 7 14 7 0 28
CLEVELAND 0 7 0 3 10 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: DAL - TD, MARION BARBER III 1 YD RUN
(NICHOLAS FOLK KICK), 8:20. Drive:
10 plays, 80 yards in 5:15. Key
plays: Barber 15-yard run to Dallas
39; Romo 19-yard pass to Witten on
3rd-and-9 to Cl
Sep 7 7:04 PM - NFL
FG CLE
PHIL DAWSON 34 YD
DALLAS 28
CLEVELAND 10 10:13 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Cowboys 28, Browns 10 4th - 10:13Sep 7 6:43 PM - NFL
END, 3RD QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
DALLAS 7 14 7 28
CLEVELAND 0 7 0 7 END, 3RD QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: DAL - TD, MARION BARBER III 1 YD RUN
(NICHOLAS FOLK KICK), 8:20. Drive:
10 plays, 80 yards in 5:15. Key
plays: Barber 15-yard run to Dallas
39; Romo 19-yard pass to Witten on
3rd-and-
Sep 7 6:30 PM - NFL
TD DAL
FELIX JONES 11 YD RUN
(NICHOLAS FOLK KICK)
DALLAS 28
CLEVELAND 7 6:24 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Cowboys 28, Browns 7 3rd - 6:24Sep 7 6:11 PM - NFL
HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
DALLAS 7 14 21
CLEVELAND 0 7 7 HALFTIME
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: DAL - TD, MARION BARBER III 1 YD RUN
(NICHOLAS FOLK KICK), 8:20. Drive:
10 plays, 80 yards in 5:15. Key
plays: Barber 15-yard run to Dallas
39; Romo 19-yard pass to Witten on
3rd-and-9 to
Sep 7 5:38 PM - NFL
TD DAL
MARION BARBER III 1 YD RUN
(NICHOLAS FOLK KICK)
DALLAS 21
CLEVELAND 7 0:26 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Cowboys 21, Browns 7 2nd - 0:26Sep 7 5:35 PM
TD DAL TERRELL OWENS 35 YD PASS FROM TONY ROMO (NICHOLAS FOLK KICK)
Cowboys 7, Browns 7 2nd - 9:55Sep 7 5:05 PM
TD DAL TERRELL OWENS 35 YD PASS FROM TONY ROMO (NICHOLAS FOLK KICK)
Cowboys 7, Browns 7 2nd - 9:55Sep 7 5:05 PM
TD DAL TERRELL OWENS 35 YD PASS FROM TONY ROMO (NICHOLAS FOLK KICK)
Cowboys 7, Browns 7 2nd - 9:55Sep 7 5:05 PM- NFL
TD DAL
TERRELL OWENS 35 YD PASS FROM TONY ROMO
(NICHOLAS FOLK KICK)
DALLAS 14
CLEVELAND 7 9:48 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Cowboys 14, Browns 7 2nd - 9:48Sep 7 5:05 PM
TD CLE KELLEN WINSLOW 2 YD PASS FROM DEREK ANDERSON (PHIL DAWSON KICK)
Cowboys 7, Browns 7 2nd - 12:43Sep 7 4:54 PM
TD CLE KELLEN WINSLOW 2 YD PASS FROM DEREK ANDERSON (PHIL DAWSON KICK)
Cowboys 7, Browns 7 2nd - 12:43Sep 7 4:54 PM
TD CLE KELLEN WINSLOW 2 YD PASS FROM DEREK ANDERSON (PHIL DAWSON KICK)
Cowboys 7, Browns 7 2nd - 12:43Sep 7 4:54 PM- NFL
TD CLE
KELLEN WINSLOW 2 YD PASS FROM DEREK ANDERSON
(PHIL DAWSON KICK)
DALLAS 7
CLEVELAND 7 12:43 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Cowboys 7, Browns 7 2nd - 12:43Sep 7 4:54 PM - NFL
END, 1ST QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
DALLAS 7 7
CLEVELAND 0 0 END, 1ST QTR
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: DAL - TD, MARION BARBER III 1 YD RUN
(NICHOLAS FOLK KICK), 8:20. Drive:
10 plays, 80 yards in 5:15. Key
plays: Barber 15-yard run to Dallas
39; Romo 19-yard pass to Witten on
3rd-and-
Sep 7 4:47 PM - NFL
TD DAL
MARION BARBER III 1 YD RUN
(NICHOLAS FOLK KICK)
DALLAS 7
CLEVELAND 0 6:40 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Cowboys 7, Browns 0 1st - 6:40Sep 7 4:30 PM
Related News
- Cleveland Browns Reportedly Adding Jameis Winston to Roster Mar 12
- Emmitt Smith Says Cowboys Are Not Properly Prepared Feb 9
- Commanders Hire Dan Quinn as Head Coach Feb 1
- Did Cowboys Make Right Call with Mike McCarthy? Jan 18
- Saquon Barkley and Tommy Devito Talk Giants and NFL Playoffs Jan 17
- Baker Mayfield Moves on with Bucs as Browns Were Ousted Jan 16
- Jordan Love Validates Packers’ Decision to Move On From Aaron Rodgers Jan 14
- Cowboys Come Up Short in NFL Playoffs Yet Again Jan 14
- Detroit Lions Are Eligible for Criticism Jan 3
- Which NFL Player Would Benefit Most from a Super Bowl? Dec 27
- Crunching Cowboys stats for the lump of coal against the Dolphins Dec 26
- Playoff Watch 6.0: Browns fighting the good fight to remain near the top Dec 26