Tolbert’s quick recovery, CeeDee’s run and Garrett’s penalty

CLEVELAND – On a day like this, which began with a mega contract extension for Dak Prescott, there are a lot of things that can be overlooked.

The Cowboys then gave the Browns a hard time on both sides of the ball, including on special teams.

But in every game, there are plays that get lost in the rush that could have changed the outcome. Here are a few that may not be remembered, but were important to the final result.

False start for the Browns – On Cleveland’s first drive of the game, the Browns were on the move, attempting to go for a fourth-and-2 at the Cowboys’ 28-yard line. But a false start by Jack Conklin attempting to pass Micah Parsons pushed them back 5 yards. After a timeout, Dustin Hopkins kicked a 51-yard field goal to make it 3-0. But the penalty prevented the Browns from potentially scoring a touchdown.

Jet Sweep by Lamb – CeeDee Lamb, who set franchise records for catches last year and is the highest-paid receiver in Cowboys history, has to set the tone of the game… with a run, of course. But with the Cowboys off to a slow start on offense, running backwards on their first drive and already committing a penalty on their second, it was a 10-yard run by Lamb that gave the Cowboys a first down. That seemed to settle things, and the offense continued to move down the field. Lamb caught a deep ball, and then Prescott ran to Brandin Cooks for a touchdown.

Tolbert jumps on a loose ball – On the second snap of the second quarter, Prescott was hit by Browns defensive end Myles Garrett on what looked like a pass. The ball rolled harmlessly to the right, but Jalen Tolbert lunged for the ball with alertness in case it was ruled a fumble. As it turned out, the play was ruled a sack and fumble, and had Tolbert not recovered it, the Browns could have recovered it and potentially scored. The Cowboys eventually punted, but the Browns didn’t even manage a first down in the second quarter.

Browns’ offside penalty on the 7 – The Cowboys were nearing the end of a long second-quarter drive and faced first-and-goal at the Cleveland 7-yard line. Prescott was sacked on first down, but Garrett was penalized for offside. This invalidated the play and gave the Cowboys the ball at the 3. On the new first down, Ezekiel Elliott got the handoff and scored. Obviously, it’s a different sequence of attempts with the ball at the 7 than at the 3. This penalty resulted in a touchdown that gave the Cowboys a 14-3 lead.

Aubrey’s rolling kick-off – In the second quarter, the Cowboys had just scored a touchdown run by Elliott to take a 14-3 lead. And the ensuing kickoff by Brandon Aubrey proved to be the perfect scenario. He managed to separate the two returners with a line drive that bounced around the 5-yard line and rolled into the end zone. Under the new rules, if the ball lands in the 20-yard landing zone and then rolls in for a touchback, it is placed at the 20-yard line. The Browns failed to get a first down and the Cowboys then took advantage of their great field position, starting at their own 44-yard line, to score another field goal.

Overshown slams the door – Late in the third quarter, the Browns trailed by 17 points but tried to get back into the game. On fourth-and-7 near the halfway line, Deshaun Watson tried to get outside to open up a possible contest, but linebacker DeMarvion Overshown quickly caught up and nullified Watson’s angle, sending the Cleveland quarterback to the ground, resulting in a sack and a turnover on downs. The Cowboys were then able to get a 50-yard field goal by Aubrey to take a 30-10 lead.