CLEVELAND — Emotions were running high in the remote locker room of the visiting Cleveland Browns.

Dak Prescott had reason to celebrate on Sunday after agent Todd France confirmed in a morning FaceTime call that France and Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones had agreed to an NFL-record $60 million-per-year contract extension.

For Prescott, the emotions were mixed.

He also had reason to celebrate with his team after the Cowboys, who struggled away from home last season, posted a 33-17 win over the Browns, who were doing well at home.

But Prescott was also frustrated, or at least annoyed. The early offensive momentum that had given the Cowboys more points in the first half than the Browns would score all day sputtered in the second. Prescott’s own stat line was efficient and turnover-free, but more in line with a quarterback who helps his team than carries it.

So the never-satisfied bones inside the quarterback spoke to him, while the locker room around him wanted to celebrate.

“You try to be disappointed about it in the dressing room, but you know it’s an away win, which is good for the team and then you’ve got team-mates telling you, you know, ‘It’s been a hell of a day for you,'” Prescott said afterwards. “I’m not happy with my personal performance today and that’s what motivates me.

“No one is a bigger critic than myself and I expect greatness from myself.”

By making Prescott the highest-paid player in NFL history, the Cowboys signaled that they expect greatness from him, too. Sunday’s game didn’t disprove their belief. But it illustrated why the deal made sense for both Prescott and the franchise. It also illustrated how the societal confluence of quarterback value and quarterback production sometimes distorts the reality of the NFL.

Prescott’s $231 million guaranteed surpassed the previous NFL record held by his Sunday counterpart, Deshaun Watson, by $1 million. While their finances may now look similar, their franchises’ opening performances tell very different stories.

Prescott did enough to help a talented team win. Watson was hit 17 times and sacked six, while fumbling and throwing two interceptions. Shaky protection, quarterback misfires and miscommunications with the receiver contributed. Even when Watson reiterated after the game that there were “no excuses,” the Browns organization knew something had to change.

“He took too many hits,” Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “We can’t let that happen to him. He fought like hell, and listen, the football team fought like hell until the end.

“But ultimately we have to protect our quarterback better than that.”

While Prescott took 4 hits, Watson absorbed 17(!)

Before Prescott found his rhythm in Cleveland, he had to take a major blow himself.

A holding penalty had put the Cowboys on first-and-20 on their opening drive. Dallas started two rookies on its offensive line, but the first of three sacks Prescott recorded was not by a rookie. Browns defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson instead recorded the rare sack that comes from beating nine-time Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin. Tomlinson hit Prescott right in the face when he sacked him for the loss of another seven.

On the sideline after the ensuing point, Prescott said, “I needed that.”

Think about the wake-up call you hear.

Prescott was reminded not only of how hard hits come, but also how quickly and precisely he had to target his receivers, or in this case tight end Jake Ferguson. His sweet new contract wouldn’t change the challenge that lay ahead.

So Prescott recovered on the ensuing drive to find receiver CeeDee Lamb twice, including a go ball 34 yards down the right sideline, despite the duo not harping on go-ball timing during training camp with Lamb holding out for a contract extension. Even in Lamb’s week back at practice, their luck on the route was scarce.

But the Cowboys needed momentum heading into their road matchup against the No. 1 defense in 2023, and the high-priced duo provided it.

Three plays later, Prescott watched Brandin Cooks break away from safety Juan Thornhill and threw a 21-yard pass from the collapsing pocket for the game’s first touchdown.

By halftime, the Cowboys had 13 first downs to 20 points. The Browns had one first down and a field goal. Cleveland would not recover.

Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense came out of the locker room to perform what several Dallas players called a “sloppy” second half. The Cowboys struggled to find the first- and second-down rhythm they had found in the first half, their diminished efficiency leading to third-down pressure they couldn’t overcome. Stalled drives gave kicker Brandon Aubrey plenty to work with that day, and a punt-return touchdown from KaVontae Turpin further chipped away at Dallas’ lead. But the Cowboys didn’t score a touchdown in the second half, and they managed just two first downs on their first-half 13. By the end of the game, the Browns had pulled ahead statistically in several categories, even if they never looked close.

“We just couldn’t score on third down, and that’s something we’re good at, something I’m really proud of,” Prescott said. “We had a couple three-and-outs in the second half that made that team think they had a chance to come back into this game and put some pressure on our defense.

“There are many ways I can be better at this game.”

His counterpart said the same.

Both teams entered this opener knowing they could expect a battle-hardened defense and plenty of pressure. Neither team had a fully established offensive line, though the Cowboys’ two rookie starters fared much better than a Browns group that was missing both of its starting tackles. Cleveland also has yet to get running back Nick Chubb back from the incapacitated list. Chubb will demand defensive attention, forcing opponents to distill some of the pressure that was on Watson on Sunday.

Context is important, then, when considering Watson’s performance, especially before the Browns put up a late run. Still, the Cowboys came back from an early sack to score 33 points, led for the final 53 minutes and five seconds of the game, and escaped with no turnovers and just four hits on Prescott.

The Browns allowed Watson to take 17 hits in his first game back from shoulder surgery, and they entered the final minute of the game with just one touchdown, a score that resulted from a referee mix-up involving a first-down attempt in the red zone that both teams thought was a fourth-down attempt. The steadfast performance by their defense was for naught.

“No excuses,” Watson said. “I’m going to take the blame and get the guys on the same page and we’ve got to be better next week. We’ve just got to go out there and execute. … Look for any kind of positivity.”

Where the Browns can’t do it, the Cowboys can.

Jerry Jones hinted a deal was near for Dak – then delivered

Prescott didn’t expect Jerry Jones to approach him on Saturday.

The quarterback had anticipated his team owner’s comments so badly that when Jones walked into the team’s warmup, his quarterback glanced over and then resumed throwing.

As Jones moved closer, Prescott asked his fellow quarterbacks: Is he coming to talk to me?

“F***,” he said, unsure of which direction he was shouting, but knowing that more concrete words wouldn’t express his feelings.

“He asked me, ‘Have you talked to anybody in the last 24 hours, 12 hours?’ And I said, ‘No, I haven’t,'” Prescott told Yahoo Sports. “So when I left practice, I called (my agent) Todd (France) and said, ‘Hey, Jerry just came up to me and asked.’ And Todd literally said, ‘Yeah, who knows. There hasn’t really been much movement. We’ve been talking all night. … We’re not that close.'”

“When I got on the plane, I thought, ‘I’m playing without.’”

But the Cowboys have long said that deadlines make deals, and this one was no exception. The team seemed to be conceding to the reality that negotiating a 2025 deal with other suitors would give Prescott literally unimaginable leverage. Prescott and his reps wanted to take that earning potential with them, but also recognized that the Cowboys were giving him a chance to play for his favorite team from his youth, be close to family, and be alongside a talented supporting cast.

They agreed that $60 million a season now reflected not only the 2024 market, but also the 2025 market they would otherwise be heading into. Jones said “he was our best shot at” getting to a Super Bowl, with the 82-year-old adding that he hopes Prescott is the Cowboys’ quarterback for the rest of his life.

Prescott partied from his hotel room with 2016 draft classmate Ezekiel Elliott and physical therapist Luke Miller. He FaceTimed with his team of pros who have become like family, and then his girlfriend Sarah Jane Ramos and daughter MJ Prescott called his dad and sent more texts.

He then prepared for the season opener in a stadium he could see from his hotel.

He had a game with a great defense and special teamers that reminded him why the Cowboys roster gives him a better chance to win a Super Bowl than any of the 2025 suitors. And the Cowboys watched the Browns fall apart with a quarterback who couldn’t hold them up amid the chaos of the day, happy that their quarterback had gotten off to a strong start even as the offense showed vulnerabilities later in a league where players and units rarely dominate all day.

Prescott’s teammates reminded him to celebrate the win and the contract, even if his work and theirs weren’t over. Running back Malik Davis led a playful group in handing out wristbands to Prescott when they asked him when he was going to give them watches with his signing bonus, while Turpin — he of the punt-return touchdown — told Prescott he now owed the receiver $1,500 a week, which amounts to virtually nothing.

Prescott breathed a sigh of relief because the tension surrounding a maybe-soon-maybe-not contract was over, because the prospect of a near-divorce with Dallas was gone, and because his team was one win closer to its ultimate postseason goals.

The Cowboys had made good on their promise to Prescott financially and in terms of their roster, and he was eager to make good on theirs in the coming months.

“I just want to fulfill my end of the deal and hand it over to him,” Prescott said. “I’m blessed and grateful.”