The Cleveland Browns will host the Dallas Cowboys at the newly renamed Huntington Bank Field in Sunday’s afternoon game, with both teams looking for some early success in the 2024 NFL season. Dallas and Cleveland both made the playoffs in their respective conferences in 2023, but both were humbled in the first round of the playoffs and spent the offseason looking to improve.
The Browns (-145) enter the game with home-field advantage but are just 2.5-point favorites on the spread and will face off against a Cowboys offense that scored the most points per game in 2023. However, with two excellent defenses taking the field, the line for total points sits at 42.5 at some NFL betting sites.
Cleveland Browns favored over Dallas Cowboys in opening matchup
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How the Cowboys could win this game
The Dallas Cowboys spent most of the offseason looking to tie down star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb to a new long-term deal. Eventually, the two sides settled on a four-year, $136 million deal to keep Lamb in Dallas, and he’ll head into the 2024 NFL season looking to better his career year from a season prior.
The Cowboys’ offense likely hinges on the connection between Lamb and Dak Prescott, and Brian Schottenheimer will likely look to use Lamb all over the field after he spent 41.8% of his snaps lined up out wide. The Cowboys don’t have myriad playmakers on offense, so getting the ball to Lamb could be key — especially against one of the better defenses in the NFL.
How the Browns could win this game
The Cleveland Browns are still waiting on the payoff of the Deshaun Watson trade, as the former Texans’ quarterback has played in just 12 games in two seasons — and his play has been poor when he’s been on the field. Cleveland has a strong offensive line and playmakers all over the offense, so the onus isn’t entirely on Watson. Instead, the Browns could lean into the rushing attack to help anchor Watson.
Jerome Ford will be the lead running back until Nick Chubb returns, and he averaged 3.9 yards per carry in 2023. On top of that, the Cowboys’ run defense struggled down the stretch in 2023 and didn’t do much to reinforce the interior of their defensive line. Ken Dorsey likely won’t have Ford carrying the ball 30 times a game as the Browns will likely spread the offense out more, but Watson still has to show Cleveland that he can play at a high level.
