Tag: Odell Beckham

Instant Analysis: Cowboys’ browned out as electric offense grounded in middle of game

24-fourth quarter points saved them, but this game got ugly fast.

The Dallas Cowboys were embarrassed in Week 4, getting drubbed at home 49-38 by the Cleveland Browns. 24-fourth quarter points saved them, but this game got ugly fast, as Dallas at one point trailed 41-14.

It was over when . . .

. . . noted Cowboy killer Odell Beckham Jr. took a reverse handoff 50-yards to score his third touchdown of the game. The score and subsequent two-point conversion was the deflating endpoint to the Cowboys comeback hopes, as Dak Prescott was intercepted near the Cleveland end zone on the next drive.

Game balls:

Game Ball No. 1: WR CeeDee Lamb

The rookie WR scored the first two touchdowns of his career, on a five-catch, 79-yard day. He also took one handoff (his third of the season), and returned three punts for 26-yards, continuing to cement himself as an integral part of the offense.

Game Ball No. 2: QB Dak Prescott

These types of performances ring hollow but still count nonetheless. One week after setting a career-high in pass attempts with 57, Prescott broke it again, completing 41 of 58 passes for a career-high 502 passing yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. He took three sacks and one lost fumble, playing behind a leaky offensive line that was shuffled mid-game for the second week in a row. Again forced to play catch-up, Prescott still completed several throws into tight spaces, and seemingly gave the Cowboys a chance they had no business having, coming within three points late.

Game Ball No. 3: DB Donovan Wilson

Wilson played his first defensive snaps of the season, recording 10 total tackles (one sack). He was inserted midway through the game after Dallas again received uninspired play from the backend of their secondary. He flashed with some big hits, but the Cowboys defense needs more playmakers to have any hope of being a complete team.

Key Stat: 135.42

After completing a 37-yard bomb to Beckham Jr. to get Cleveland’s scoring started, Jarvis Landry now has a career 135.42 career passer rating (109 yards on three completions, one touchdown). The Browns gashed the Dallas defense all game with misdirection and play-action, with this trick play being a sign of things to come.

Quick Hits:

  • Four weeks into the season and the Cowboys defense is trending in the wrong direction. Dallas entered the game with the ninth-most total yards allowed and then gave up 508 to the Cleveland freaking Browns. 307 yards were rushing, by far the most Dallas has given up in any game this season. Someone named D’Ernest Johnson led the Browns with 95 rushing yards on 13 attempts, and Kareem Hunt chipped in two touchdowns and 71 yards on 11 carries after taking over for an injured Nick Chubb.
  • The collective tackling from the Dallas defense was abysmal. The secondary continually allowed key completions to Beckham, Austin Hooper, and Landry, and couldn’t come up with a stop when the team needed it most.
  • DE DeMarcus Lawrence is still looking for this first sack of the season but was one of the few bright spots along the Cowboys defensive front. He recorded one of the four tackles for loss on the day for Dallas. The others were made by Wilson, Joe Thomas, and Trysten Hill.
  • Joe Looney was injured on the first play of the game and did not return. He was replaced by rookie Tyler Biadasz, who committed a false start later in the game. Terence Steele, who got the start at RT, was replaced mid-game for the second week in a row. Despite getting back Tyron Smith, the Cowboys offensive line is still figuring things out. Cleveland DE Myles Garrett had a big, game-changing effect this week.
  • After going ahead 14-7 with just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Cowboys were outscored 34-0 over the next 34:44, not scoring again until early in the fourth quarter. Dallas has found themselves playing from behind in each game so far this season, which is obviously not a great situation to continually be in. They are one on-side kick recovery away from being 0-4 on the season.
  • The Cowboys play their first divisional game of the year in Week 5, taking on Jason Garrett and the New York Giants.

WATCH: Cowboys rook CeeDee Lamb scores first TD to answer Browns trick play

Cowboys rookie wide receiver Cee Dee Lamb catches first touch down of his career

Welcome to the scoring column, CeeDee Lamb. It looks like there’s going to be another shootout for the Cowboys early in the 2020 season.

After the Dallas Cowboys went three and out on their first series the Cleveland Browns wasted no time attacking the Cowboys banged up secondary.

Wide receiver Jarvis Landry hit fellow wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on a trick reverse pass play for a score to put the Browns up. Once again, safety Darian Thompson was victimized for a big play. The extra point was good and the Cowboys find themselves down early 7-0.

The Cowboys responded quickly on their next drive though. After getting some breathing room thanks to a successful screen play to running back Ezekiel Elliott, quarterback Dak Prescott hit rookie wide receiver CeeDee Lamb for a 43-yard touchdown strike down the middle of the field. This time it was the Browns with the blown coverage.

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Watch: Trickery leads to the Cleveland Browns first touchdown

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski dials up some trickery on the Browns first play from scrimmage.

It is Halloween season after all. Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski perhaps had that in mind when he dialed up some trickery, leading to the Cleveland Browns’ first touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys:

This play is perfect design for Stefanski and the Browns. The Cowboys’ defense has struggled against outside zone running plays, and Cleveland shows that on their first offensive play from scrimmage. Baker Mayfield pitches to the running back as the offensive line shows zone blocking. However, the back flips the ball to Jarvis Landry, a left-handed passer. Landry is working to his left, takes the pitch, and drops in a perfect throw to Odell Beckham Jr. for the score.

Browns final injury report for Week 4 vs. Cowboys has 3 out, 6 questionable

Kareem Hunt, Joel Bitonio and Denzel Ward are among those questionable

The Cleveland Browns got a little healthier from Thursday to Friday, but the team remains banged up heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.

Three Browns players have been ruled out with injuries. Most prominent among those ruled out is Greedy Williams, who will miss his fourth consecutive game with a shoulder injury suffered in training camp over six weeks ago. DE Adrian Clayborn (hip) and LB/special teamer Tae Davis (elbow) are also out and will not make the trip to Dallas.

Six players have been designated as questionable for Week 4:

  • LG Joel Bitonio
  • RB Kareem Hunt
  • C Nick Harris
  • LB Jacob Phillips
  • DE Olivier Vernon
  • CB Denzel Ward

Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. missed time in practice during the week but was not given any injury designation for the game. Hunt did not practice until Friday with his groin ailment but improved enough to be a limited participant in Friday’s session.

Cowboys D to face dual dynamic duos in duel with Browns

The defense for the Dallas Cowboys will be challenged by a dangerous duo of receivers and runners for the Cleveland Browns.

There’s been a litany of challenges for the Dallas Cowboys as the 2020 season has unfolded. Three weeks in and three uneven performances leaves room for improvement, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Sporting a 1-2 record, Dallas still has a chance to correct those ills and find some semblance of rhythm coming out of the first quarter of the campaign.

The offense? Even though they aren’t yet clocking, they are still one of the league’s best, averaging just under 30 points a contest. The defense hasn’t been nearly as good as they’ve needed to be yet. It hasn’t been pretty as the Cowboys are near the bottom of the league in most defensive categories and there has been too many blown assignments through the first three weeks.

It hasn’t looked good, but it’s also important to have a little perspective.

The defense has been playing without two of their top three corners in Anthony Brown and Chidobe Awuzie, as well two starters at LB in Leighton Vander Esch and Sean Lee. DE DeMarcus Lawrence is also banged up and isn’t playing at a high level yet, though he continues to make opportunities for his linemates.

The schedule hasn’t done the team any favors either.

Playing the Rams in the first week of the season was a tough ask considering they had a new defensive scheme to learn and no real offseason or preseason games to prepare. Meanwhile the Falcons and Seahawks both boast top-level QB’s and receivers to take advantage of a short-handed secondary in Dallas.

In the Cowboys’ first three games, the common denominator in each opponent is they have elite WR combinations. The Rams have Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, Falcons have Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley, while the Seahawks boast DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

When still learning a new scheme, down solid CB’s due to injury and having trouble pressuring the QB, it’s hard to slow down those combinations.

With the Cleveland Browns coming to town, the defense will be facing another one of the best receiver tandems. Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry will be a difficult duo for the Cowboys to keep in check.

However, it’s another tandem that should worry the defense as well.

The one-two punch of RBs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt will be a handful to slow down. The defense hasn’t done well going up against some solid backs through the first three weeks, but it’ll be a whole new challenge to stop the duo of Chubb and Hunt.

Hunt hasn’t practiced the last two days, but there doesn’t seem to be any concern that he’ll miss the game. Even if Hunt can’t go, Chubb is the starter and is a handful to deal with. Chubb is fourth in the league in rushing with 292 yards, averages 5.7 yards a carry and has four rushing scores on the season. Those numbers would be even higher if he weren’t sharing carries with Hunt.

Despite all the talent on offense, the Browns are just 20th in the NFL in total offense and 18th in ppg at 25.

This isn’t the same old Browns, they are on a two-game win streak and bring a significant amount of firepower on offense to make for another shootout. The Cowboys would be wise to force some turnovers on the erratic, but talented QB Baker Mayfield. If the Cowboys’ offense can work with some short fields and get a lead, they can make life difficult on Mayfield and force the Browns offense to be one dimensional.

Another week and another gifted offense for the undermanned Dallas defense to defend. It won’t be easy, the Cowboys need a better effort on that side of the ball than they’ve gotten in the past few weeks to walk away victorious.

There are no cakewalks in the NFL.

You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi.

Cowboys Wire Staff Picks: Unification in predicting Week 4 result vs Browns

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Thursday Injury Report: Cowboys’ Smith progressing, Browns’ Beckham limited

An injury update for the Cowboys and Browns, including the status of Tyron Smith, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Trevon Diggs.

The Dallas Cowboys have been tormented by injuries through the first three games of the 2020 season. Fortunately two crucial, injured linemen in  Tyron Smith and DeMarcus Lawrence are progressing this week.

Lawrence didn’t practice for the second straight day as he has dealing with a knee injury that he suffered in the Week 2 win against Atlanta, but the team is expecting the defensive end will be suiting up for Sunday’s matchup with the Browns. Meanwhile Smith was upgraded from a DNP to Limited in Thursday’s work. Meanwhile, Cleveland is nursing a pretty extensive injury report for the day and that includes wideout Odell Beckhman, Jr. being limited with a back injury.

Head coach Mike McCarthy had this to say about Lawrence’s availability during a virtual press conference on Thursday: “He’ll take very little (reps) if any today. But I don’t think he’s in jeopardy. I anticipate him to kind of go through the week like he did last week. So we’ll see what today brings.”

Lawrence has played just 39 percent of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps since the season opener, way down from the roughly 65 percent of defensive snaps that he played in 2018 and 2019.

Despite not missing a game this season, the injury has clearly impacted the former Pro-Bowler’s abilities to stay, and produce, on the field. Lawrence’s one quarterback pressure through three weeks pale in comparison to the seven that the end accumulated through the same timespan just a season ago.

The Dallas defense doesn’t just need Lawrence to play, they need him to return to his dominant form that he’s played at in the past, if they want to have any chance of consistently slowing down the better offenses in the league.

On the other side of the trenches, Smith seems in line to line up for the first time since Week 1.

Smith was able to participate in individual drills during Wednesday’s practice, the most he had down in a Cowboys uniform since September 17 and seemed to duplicate the effort on Thursday.

It remains to be seen if Smith can give it a go this upcoming Sunday, but there is more optimism surrounding the topic than in the two previous weeks.

Smith’s return would be monumental for a Cowboys offensive line that has been unstable, to say the least. Fellow star tackle, La’el Collins, is yet to play this season and his return date, if there is a return, is yet to be determined. 

According to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys have already used a staggering five different offensive line combinations, none of which have played up the standard of Dallas O-Lines of recent history.

If Smith is active Sunday, the Cowboys will decide between Brandon Knight and Terrence Steele for the right tackle spot. Based on their performances in each players short career it seems likely that Knight would get the nod over Steele. However, if Smith needs more time before he can play, Knight would once again man the left side, while Steele would slot back into the right tackle role.

Guard Zack Martin spent some second half of Dallas Week 3 loss to Seattle at right tackle, after Steele exited with an illness, and Martin did  extremely well, as expected. Martin made it clear that he’s back to playing guard, but the future Hall of Famer is ready for anything necessary.

Rookie cornerback Trevon Diggs popped up on the injury report as well, but it feels similar to last week, when the Cowboys took it easy on Diggs during the week and he played a full workload of snaps on Sunday.

The Cleveland Browns are dealing with their fair share of important ailments ahead of their trip to Dallas this weekend.

Beckham Jr appeared on his first injury report of the week with a back injury. Assuming he is able to play, he star wideout is set to match up with the Cowboys for the first time since leaving the Giants in 2018.

One of the better guards in the league, Joel Bitonio, was limited for the Browns on Thursday (back) but was an upgrade from his DNP on Wednesday.

Similarly to Bitonio, cornerback Denzel Ward (groin) was limited Thursday following a no show in practice the day before.

Running back Kareem Hunt (groin), safety Ronnie Harrison (illness), defensive end Adrian Clayborn (hip) were among the notable absences from Thursday’s practice in Cleveland.

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The return of Kendall Fuller couldn’t come at a better time for Washington

With Washington’s secondary faced with the task of bottling up Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, the return of Kendall Fuller is big.

Many Washington fans celebrated earlier this season when the team signed CB Kendall Fuller in free agency, bringing the long-time player back home to D.C. after he was traded away in 2018 as part of a deal that brought Alex Smith to Washington.

It was a joyous return, with hopes that Fuller could immediately lift the talent left of Washington’s secondary. However, through two weeks of the season, fans have yet to get the full Fuller experience, as the veteran has been relegated to the sideline with an injury.

Up until now, that is. It was announced on Sunday that Fuller will make his season debut against the Cleveland Browns, which couldn’t come at a better time.

It will be interesting to see how much of an impact Fuller will have on the secondary in Washington, a unit that has subverted expectations thus far, and one that will have a major task on their hands when facing both Odell Bekham Jr. and Jarvis Landry.

Will Fuller immediately be able to step in and provide some relief? That’s the hope. After waiting patiently, Washington fans finally get to see their biggest free-agent acquisition in action. Let’s get down to it.

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Daily Fantasy: The one Browns player you need to start in Week 2 on DraftKings

Hooper is going up against a Bengals defense that allowed 73 yards to tight end Hunter Henry last week, first among all Chargers pass-catchers.

The Browns’ showdown with the Bengals Thursday will be the first of three straight favorable matchups for quarterback Baker Mayfield, who needs a statement performance. To get that, he’s going to look to tight end Austin Hooper, this week’s must-start in daily fantasy football from DraftKings.

Odell Beckham has the potential to have a big game in Week 2, as Bengals left cornerback Darius Phillips struggled in coverage against Chargers star Mike Williams, but with he and Mayfield still not on the same page,

Hooper is going up against a Bengals defense that allowed 73 yards to tight end Hunter Henry last week, first among all Chargers pass-catchers.

With the Browns focusing on a committee approach at running back between Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and tight end David Njoku now on injured reserve with a sprained MCL, Hooper has an excellent chance to lead the Browns in targets this week.

Hooper serves as a low-end TE1 while Njoku is sidelined, and he offers the best upside for Cleveland pass-catchers until Mayfield and the Browns offense truly figure out their identity and pecking order.

Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens Live Stream, NFL Football Odds, TV Channel, Start Time

The Cleveland Browns will face the Baltimore Ravens in week one of the NFL season on Sunday afternoon, stream all the NFL action here.

The Cleveland Browns will face the Baltimore Ravens in week one of the NFL season on Sunday afternoon. The Ravens were one of the most exciting and explosive teams last year and will look to continue that trend with Lamar Jackson at the helm. The Browns will look to put together a much improved season with Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham will a year under their belts.

Can the Cleveland Browns upset the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson Tune in and find out, here is everything you need to know to catch the NFL action today.

Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens

Prediction: The Baltimore Ravens opened up as 8 point favorites and the line has dropped to seven. This early in the season, I’ll take the points with Cleveland +7 in this week one matchup.

NFL Football Odds and Betting Lines

NFL odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds last updated Sunday at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens (-7)

Over/Under: 47.5 (-110)

Want some action on the NBA? Place your legal sports bets on this game or others in CO, IN, NJ, and WV at BetMGM. 

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Baker Mayfield ‘in much better place’ mentally ahead of 2020 season

Former Oklahoma and current Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield opened up about a difficult sophomore season in the league

Former Oklahoma and current Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield opened up about a difficult sophomore season in the league at his first training camp media availability last week.

“I wouldn’t say it was a ‘poor me’ type situation. I just… going and having success all through high school and college and having that standard so high…the past couple of years have been a rollercoaster of emotions,” he said, “and not nearly as much success as I’m used to, so I would say I lost myself by not having that success, not finding out what was working.”

Mayfield enjoyed a strong rookie season, racking up 3725 yards and 21 touchdowns on 63.8 percent passing. After the Browns traded for superstar WR Odell Beckham, Jr., Mayfield appeared poised for an even better second year.

Instead, he posted a disappointing 3827 yards on 59.4 percent passing. He also threw for 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. Now, after a long offseason to himself, Mayfield appears ready to return to form.

“I’m in a much better place mentally. I put in the work. I’m just ready to roll, get back, attack get back to where I need to be for this team, this franchise,” he said.

Mayfield also enters 2020 under the tutelage of new head coach Kevin Stefanski, who praised his young QB.

“I appreciate where he is,” Stefanski said. “I think he’s done a nice job as the leader of this football team and I’m just excited to get on the grass with him.”

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