CLEVELAND – Let the Dallas Cowboys introduce themselves.

For those who may not have been there at the training camp and from afar had no idea of ​​the talent on this team.

For the Cleveland Browns, who had no idea what hit them here on a late Sunday afternoon and were likely planning a christening party for the 2024 season.

And for the 67,431 unsuspecting spectators who packed the newly renamed Huntington Bank Field, they were so stunned by what transpired that they not only booed the home team before halftime, but midway through the third quarter, left the orange seats they had been waiting in all offseason to watch a team with high expectations play.

Cowboys 33, Browns 17, and believe me, it wasn’t as close as the 16-point difference might seem, leaving the Browns and most of the national TV audience probably wondering: Who the hell are these guys?

“Great win,” exclaimed head coach Mike McCarthy, “especially considering it was an away game,” referring to the 2023 season, when all five of the Cowboys’ losses came in the away games.

“Great, great, great win for us,” said quarterback Dak Prescott, who had a great, great, great morning after finally agreeing to a four-year extension and, more importantly, banking an $80 million signing bonus as the ink dried on what turned out to be a guaranteed $231 million deal. “Great team effort.”

Well, you know those two.

Shake hands again with Mike Zimmer, back for the second time as defensive coordinator, who gives his defense a major blow by limiting the Browns to just 54 yards in the first half, one first down and no plays longer than eight yards. It set the Cowboys up for a 20-3 first-half lead.

Meet the Cowboys’ expensive new defensive leader, veteran middle linebacker Eric Kendricks, who enjoyed a fine Cowboys how-do-you-do with nine tackles, two sacks — his first since 2016 when he played for Zimm and the Vikings against, you guessed it, McCarthy and his Packers — one TFL, two QB hits, one PD and, oh yeah, an interception of a DeShaun Watson pass that was initially tipped by Micah Parsons.

“I know what type of player I am,” Kendricks said, not worrying about what others might think of the newcomer. “This is more about the people on the team, showing them who I am.”

And in case people forgot, hello again from KaVontae Turpin, the former Pro Bowl special teams return ace who reintroduced himself with his first NFL punt return for a touchdown. He zoomed, weaved and turned the corner for 60 yards to hit the Browns in the solar plexus, taking the wind out of their sails for good and giving the Cowboys a 27-3 lead less than two minutes and one second into the second half.

Brandon Aubrey, you know him, right? Last season’s freshman NFL kicker earned Pro Bowl honors by making 36 of 38 attempts. He picked up where he left off, going four of four in this game, including two more from 50 yards (57 and 50), making him 12 of 12 from that distance in his short career. And I will say, if the referee hadn’t been hovering over the ball for some unknown reason as the clock was counting down, Aubrey would have tied the NFL record with a 66-yard field goal from 70, just like he did in the preseason. However, it was negated by a delay of game penalty, which initially prompted McCarthy to give him a shot from 71 with four seconds left in the half until the Browns sent a return man to the end zone ready to sail if the kick fell short.

The Cowboys had 11 players make their debuts for the Cowboys on Sunday, six of whom made their NFL debuts, including nickel linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who matched Kendricks with nine tackles and tackled a struggling Watson like he’d been shot out of a cannon.

The same goes for rookie cornerback Caelen Carson, who was forced to start after DaRon Bland’s foot injury. I’m not sure if he shook hands with Amari Cooper or not, but the Cowboys essentially eliminated their former wideout from the game, with Carson finishing with two passes defensed and nearly two interceptions.

Now, about those offensive linemen, Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe. No problem there. Hey, Browns’ game-wrecking defensive end Myles Garrett was limited to just two tackles, one sack, one TFL and one QB hit. The Cowboys will accept that, and they had a good game plan, asking Dak to roll excessively to help the protection, along with using fullback Hunter Luepke and tight ends to get last season’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year back in his place.

And that run game that so many worried about, that led to losing record predictions and a loss here to the 11-6 Browns from last season who were 8-1 at home? Well, the “committee” cobbled together 102 yards rushing, with Ezekiel Elliott leading the way with 10 carries for 40 yards and his first Cowboys rushing touchdown since Game 16 in 2022.

And then there was CeeDee Lamb, donning a uniform for the first time since the Cowboys’ playoff loss to Green Bay last season, a major concern given he had practiced only a handful of times during contract negotiations. Nope, CeeDee produced 86 yards from scrimmage, his five catches for 61 yards backed by a career-high 25 yards rushing.

Look, this is just one game. Get it? A long way to go. And as efficient as the Cowboys and Dak were on offense in the first half, they struggled repeatedly in the second half, producing just two field goals. And those were set up by the defense with two fourth-down stops in Browns territory.

That led McCarthy to rightly describe the second half as “sloppy” and Dak to rightly criticise his play, with his passes looking rushed and short. When asked if this new deal puts irreparable pressure on him to perform, he said: “I put the most pressure on myself. It’s as simple as that. I’m not happy with my personal performance today and that’s what motivates me. That’s what pushes me.”

But look, last year in those road games the Cowboys were terrible against the run, twice getting hit for over 200 yards rushing. But in this game, if this is any indication of things to come – and I know the Browns finished with 93 yards rushing, an average of 4.9 yards per carry – but after three quarters the Browns, without the injured Nick Chubb, were limited to just 35 yards on 10 carries, and Watson to 119 yards passing while ultimately getting sacked six times for a miserable 51.1 QB rating.

But here’s the thing, and what we tried to elaborate on Friday about this pervasive fear of the unknown. Don’t be so quick to write this team off, as so many did before the Cowboys ever got out of the starting blocks. Rookies, yes, they have them. Cheap free-agent signings—bringing in veterans so they can free up cap space, and not just for this year, but next year, and the year after that, so they can sign Lamb and Prescott to extensions—shouldn’t be a sign of doom.

How about we let this thing breathe for a moment?

“I thought the energy for the game was great,” veteran Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin said. “Guys were ready.”

And off they went. Who knows, maybe Daks announcing the extension that morning when the deal was made with the Joneses, who stayed behind to make phone calls until they hopped on the private jet to Cleveland, arriving at the stadium as warmups were already underway, gave these guys an emotional shock.

And you can hear the uninitiated chorus coming in with this Jerry did this on purpose to make a splash on national TV on Sunday. Look you could see it Thursday and Friday they must have come close because Jerry wouldn’t answer any questions about Dak’s contract and Dak played it a little lighter. Both sides made concessions, Dak’s people showed up to guarantee the full extension and accepted less of the total package and the Cowboys manipulated the signing bonus by adding voidable years at the end of the extension.

Let Jerry joke when they arrived at the stadium that they had come by bus because there was no car transport.

So all’s well that ends well. Dak is happy, very happy, and has time during the early warmup to cuddle his little girl behind the bench. The Joneses are happy, probably more relieved, even though they have to spend the grandchildren’s inheritance. (Come on, just kidding.) The players were, as Dak said, happy, pointing out that practice squad running back Malik Davis was telling his teammates to get their wrists measured for gold watches.

And despite all the discontent among fans, maybe you’re happy too.

At least for one week, right?