All in a day’s work, the Dallas Cowboys agreed to terms on the most lucrative contract in NFL history then hung 33 points on what most considered the league’s best defense.
But the real bread-winner in Sunday’s 33-17 win at Cleveland was linebacker Micah Parsons. That’s according to WFAA’s Ed Werder, who noted that owner Jerry Jones agreed to make Dak Prescott the NFL’s highest-paid player only four hours before kickoff, just days after he made wide receiver CeeDee Lamb the highest-paid non-quarterback.
“Of course, the most dominant player in their season-opening win at Cleveland is the next guy to get paid, Micah Parsons,” Werder said on Sunday’s edition of the Doomsday Podcast with co-host Matt Mosley.
Parsons had nine pressures and one sack. He also tipped a Deshaun Watson pass that landed in the arms of Parsons’ new teammate, linebacker Eric Kendricks. Since Dallas drafted Parsons 12th overall in 2021, he now has five games of at least eight quarterback pressures, most in the NFL.
In fact, Parsons took pressure off the Dallas offense while creating opportunities for others like Kendricks, whose interception set up a Brandon Aubrey field goal that gave the Cowboys a commanding 20-3 lead late in the first half.
Neither of Cleveland’s starting offensive tackles were available, and the Browns didn’t have leading rusher Nick Chubb. However, this was no “Yeah, but…” win, Werder said.
“Winning on the road against a playoff opponent with one of the most feared defensive players, where you’re starting two rookie offensive linemen?” Werder said. “I give the Cowboys a lot of credit for that. I thought they handled Myles Garrett really well.”
Dallas handled Garrett so well that the Cowboys scored early and often. Cleveland had not allowed more than 27 points at home in nearly two years, since a 31-30 loss to the Jets on Sept. 18, 2022. The Cowboys also got a 60-yard punt-return touchdown from KaVonte Turpin and spent more than 55 minutes with a road lead, a perch they haven’t enjoyed lately.
“That’s the very thing the Cowboys have not done in recent years,” Werder said. “For all their success the last couple of years, they’re 15-1 at home and just 8-9 on the road.”
Now, Dallas returns home to host one of the marquee games on the Week 2 schedule, against New Orleans this Sunday (1 p.m. ET, FOX). The Saints crushed Carolina, 47-10, on Sunday.
Since Parsons joined the team in 2021, the Cowboys own the league’s best home winning percentage (21-6, .778), including postseason. And with Prescott under contract, Dallas aims to extend that home success against New Orleans and beyond, co-host Mark Mosley said.
“If Dak can play until 40,” Mosley said, “and we can get Jerry to 90, that’ll match up pretty well. And of course Dak will have two or three more contracts by then.