Cowboys defense dominates Browns, but is just getting started: ‘Zim was cooking’ (2024)

CLEVELAND — With the results the Dallas Cowboys’ defense generated in their 33-17 season-opening win, it felt like they may have thrown the kitchen sink at the Cleveland Browns’ offense.

Far from it.

“We didn’t even open up the full bag,” Micah Parsons said. “For a lot of us, it was our first game since the playoff loss (in January). We’re just getting back into it, tackling people again, getting to that full contact game plan. I just think the sky is the limit. This is just the beginning.”

The defense “has, like, 50 calls. We only ran probably like three of them,” All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs said after intercepting a pass in his first game since tearing his ACL after Week 2 of last season.

“That was just a little sample,” Diggs said.

For the last three seasons, Dan Quinn did his job as defensive coordinator at a high enough level to earn himself a head coaching gig in Washington. To replace Quinn, the Cowboys brought in Mike Zimmer, whose excellence as Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator landed him a head coaching job in Minnesota for eight seasons (2014-21). Zimmer didn’t shake up the entire foundation in Dallas, but he did more than just tweak a few things around the edges. He implemented a new system and preached a fresh philosophy. He was tasked with coming in and maintaining the things the Cowboys did well under Quinn while patching up the deficiencies.

“We obviously have a standard that we want to create on defense,” linebacker Eric Kendricks said. “Today was a stepping stone in that direction. At the same time, there are a lot of little (things) that we can correct going forward.”

Last year, the Cowboys’ run defense struggled. On Sunday, the Browns had three rushers combine for 93 yards. Limiting a Browns’ rushing attack that was without starting running back Nick Chubb doesn’t prove the run defense is fixed but it was a great start to feeding that notion.

The masterpiece of Zimmer’s defense on Sunday was how he called the game against Deshaun Watson. The Browns’ quarterback looked rattled all day. According to Next Gen Stats, Watson was pressured 25 times and sacked six times on 56 dropbacks. Against pressure, Watson completed 5 of 17 passes for 22 yards.

“I definitely feel that if we ever got a problem with a mobile quarterback, we definitely got the pieces to take care of it,” linebacker DeMarvion Overshown said. “I’m blessed with my abilities and the coaching staff to put me in the right position to go make those plays.”

As much as the scheme was the story, the personnel made it happen.

Kendricks and Overshown were two of the most noticeable players on Sunday, and neither played a snap for the Cowboys last season. Kendricks, the 32-year-old veteran, had two sacks and an interception off a Parsons deflection. The last time Kendricks had two sacks in a game was in 2016, his second year in the NFL, against Mike McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers. Kendricks, who exited the game due to dehydration (he said afterward that he’s fine), has largely been touted for his leadership and knowledge of Zimmer’s defense.

On Sunday, he sent a message that his ability on the field is worth just as much attention.

“You got to trust yourself more than anybody,” Kendricks said. “At the end of the day, I’ve put the work in, I know what kind of player I am, I know what I bring to each team that I’m a part of. If people don’t know about it now, they’re going to know pretty soon.”

The guy playing next to him was impossible to miss, especially in the second half.

Overshown, who missed last season after tearing his ACL in the preseason, played his first full football game since his final season at Texas in 2022. He was tasked with spying on Watson throughout the game, to help neutralize the quarterback’s ability to buy time and to prevent big runs down the field.

The game was littered with Overshown’s presence but a critical play stood out in the third quarter. With the Browns down 27-10, they faced fourth-and-6. Overshown initially shadowed Watson from 15 yards away. The second he saw Watson roll to the right to extend the play, Overshown committed and closed on Watson with blinding speed to turn the ball over on downs.

denied by D-Mo ❌

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— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 8, 2024

“It’s a defense that frustrated me all camp long,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said. “We had our days against them, but they had some days against us. Their strength is confusing the quarterback and when you can do that for a split second and you have the pass rush that we have, it’s awesome. I played (against) Zim for a long time. You’re not going to put up a lot of points on Zim. Now that he’s on our side, that feels good.”

As he is on most nights, Parsons was operating at a different level. It’s become a challenge to pin him to a position because Zimmer is choosing to play Parsons all over the field.

“They moved him all around the line of scrimmage,” Browns offensive tackle James Hudson said. “I think the only place where he didn’t line up was over the left guard. He lined up everywhere.”

According to Next Gen Stats, Parsons finished with nine pressures and a sack on 46 pass rushes. Parsons finished with one sack but was in position to rack up a couple more.

“I think I missed like two or three (sacks), bro,” Parsons said. “(Watson) is tough. I’m going to have nightmares tonight, for sure. I’m supposed to start this year off with three (sacks) but it’s OK. When it rains, it pours. No excuses. No excuses. I got to be better.”

Kendricks, Overshown and Parsons were the standouts but the defense had strong contributions across the board. As has been the case in recent years, DeMarcus Lawrence quietly had a dominant performance with a couple of sacks. Rookie cornerback Caelen Carson was shaky at times but held his own in a tough matchup and was in position to have two interceptions. Diggs nearly had a second interception on the drive after he notched his first one of the year.

“Zim was cooking tonight,” Lawrence said. “The whole defense felt it. We were all on the same page. It was a beautiful thing. Definitely happy we got Zim in our corner, calling the shots out there on the field, seeing what we see. We get after it again next week.”

(Top photo of Eric Kendricks: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)

Saad Yousuf is a staff writer covering the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Stars. He also works at 96.7/1310 The Ticket in Dallas after five years at ESPN Dallas radio. Prior to The Athletic, Saad covered the Cowboys for WFAA, the Mavericks for Mavs.com and a variety of sports at The Dallas Morning News, ESPN.com and SB Nation. Follow Saad on Twitter @SaadYousuf126