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Rob Phillips – Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
September 7, 2008 11:40 PM

CLEVELAND – Tony Romo wore a red badge of courage across his chin. Marion Barber's ribs took a beating.

But the Cowboys' post-game aches and pains were nothing compared to the "hard knocks" the Cleveland Browns (0-1) absorbed for four quarters at their self-titled stadium.

In Sunday's powerful 28-10 victory over a 10-win team from last season, the Cowboys (1-0) looked like a group ready to move past their high-profile off-season (most notably their own training camp documentary) and start competing for a second straight division title – and perhaps a championship, too.

The Cowboys silenced Cleveland's sellout crowd (73,012) by dominating every facet of the game. Romo and the offense racked up 487 yards and nearly doubled the time of possession battle (37:29 to 22:31). Their defense held the Browns' prolific offense to 205 yards and a single touchdown – tight end Kellen Winslow's two-yard catch in the second quarter. And the special teams patched up its occasional leaky coverage, preventing any big Browns gains without ace return specialist Joshua Cribbs (inactive-ankle).

"I thought we managed the game really well," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said. "Offensively we moved the ball really well, defensively we played well and special teams played well. I thought we were ready to play."

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The Cowboys also flew home relatively healthy with the exception of Barber, the team's Pro Bowl back who sat out the final quarter-and-a-half with bruised ribs after rushing 16 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns. X-rays were negative and team trainers seemed optimistic that a follow-up MRI wouldn't be necessary, though there's a chance he has some cartilage damage. Rookie Felix Jones had nine carries for 62 yards and a touchdown in relief.

Romo also took one on the chin, literally, when two Browns defenders landed awkwardly on him in the third quarter. He got up slowly but continued his game-long dissection of the Browns' beat-up defense, completing 24 of 32 passes for 320 yards and one touchdown thanks to consistently excellent line protection sans starting guard Kyle Kosier (foot fracture).

Romo didn't throw an incompletion until the 10:02 mark of the second quarter (he was a perfect 9-of-9 until that point) and spread the ball evenly to his top three receivers. Terrell Owens, Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton combined for 17 catches and 275 yards without injured backups Sam Hurd (high ankle sprain) and Miles Austin (sprained MCL).

Post-game X-rays on Romo's non-throwing hand (he landed awkwardly on it during that third-quarter hit) were negative, but he did need 13 stitches to close a gash across his chin.

"It's fine," he said succinctly when asked about the laceration.

"We're real excited. That's a good football team we beat today. We went into their place and played good football. It's pretty exciting to see what kind of football team we can be when we put it all together."

The offense might have added two more touchdowns to its 28-point total had Romo not thrown an interception from the Browns' four-yard line and Owens (five catches, 87 yards, one TD) hadn't watched his 31-yard gain on a third-quarter drive get wiped out by a questionable offensive pass interference call.

Defensively, the Cowboys stuffed last year's eighth-ranked offense despite a shuffle in their secondary – Adam "Pacman" Jones started at left cornerback in place of Terence Newman, who sat out with a nagging groin injury.

The defense threw several looks at Browns quarterback Derek Anderson (11-of-24, 114 yards, one touchdown), made explosive receiver Braylon Edwards (two catches for 14 yards) a virtual non-factor and held Winslow to two catches after his three-catch, 32-yard contribution on the Browns' lone touchdown drive in the second quarter.

At times, the Cowboys sent linebacker Greg Ellis out wide to jam Winslow at the line of scrimmage and prevent a potential slant pass.

"We had Greg Ellis, the sack master, out there covering this week," inside linebacker Bradie James said. "If he wouldn't have done such a great job, we probably wouldn't have been around here smiling today with a win.

"Once we stopped the running game and Kellen Winslow, we knew we had a chance to win the game."

The Cowboys now have an extra day to prepare for next Monday's nationally-televised home opener – "Our second big game this year," Phillips joked – against division rival Philadelphia, who crushed St. Louis 38-3 on Sunday.

The Cowboys delivered an opening statement of their own. They looked every bit the NFC contenders everyone expects from a club coming off a 13-win season that produced a league-record 13 Pro Bowlers.

"With teams all across the league, everybody is excited about the opener, everybody is trying to get that first win," Owens said. "If Tony (Romo) can have the protection he had today throughout the season, it'll be hard to stop us."

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