CLEVELAND — Phil Dawson lined up the field goal and split the uprights. He was promptly booed.
That’s the kind of opener it was for the Browns on Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Even when they scored, it was the wrong move.
Dawson’s meaningless 34-yarder in the fourth quarter provided the final score in a 28-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The Browns were outclassed in nearly every facet.
“The Cowboys are pretty good, and we made them better,” said coach Romeo Crennel, who said he kicked the field goal to gain some momentum.
It didn’t work. The Cowboys kept the ball for the final 10:13.
The routine has gotten old for fans. Spend the offseason getting geeked up for the return of the Browns, only to have the hope sucked out of them on the first sunny Sunday in September.
“Oh-and-one is not the way to start,” Crennel said.
The Browns have played 10 openers since their return to the NFL — all at home — and are 1-9. Last year’s 34-7 debacle versus Pittsburgh was brutal, and this wasn’t much better.
Dallas showed why it had 13 Pro Bowlers last season and is a big favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Receiver Terrell Owens ran clean much of the day and caught five passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Jason Witten consistently found soft spots in the zone for six catches and 96 yards. Quarterback Tony Romo took advantage of his ample time in the pocket, going
24-for-32 for 320 yards, a touchdown and 103.6 rating.
“They basically did what they wanted to us,” defensive end Robaire Smith said.
“You don’t face too many teams like this, and thankfully so,” said linebacker Andra Davis, who dropped an interception on a Dallas touchdown drive in the first half.
Cleveland showed why it was a six-point underdog at home, and that the NFL’s offseason hype machine is as reliable as a weather forecast.
The Browns were outgained 487-205, possessed the ball for just 22:31 and had 19 fewer first downs (30-11, including 10-1 in the third quarter) than the Cowboys.
After a week of wishing that the winless preseason would prove to be meaningless, the Browns were quickly shown reality. All the angst of the fans was justified.
The Browns’ inept play didn’t disappear just because the game counted. The pass rush, non-existent in August, didn’t magically appear. And the injury bug followed into opening day, as receiver Donte Stallworth hurt his groin in pregame warmups, leaving a thin receiving corps looking like a skeleton.
“You have to deal with the cards you’re dealt,” quarterback Derek Anderson said. “Donte was a huge part of what we were going to do. But you still have to go out there and make plays.”
Syndric Steptoe and Steve Sanders filled in, but looked overwhelmed in their first NFL games and had trouble lining up in the right spots. They weren’t the only ones struggling.
The lack of practice time and preseason repetitions because of injuries was obvious, as Anderson (concussion) and receiver Braylon Edwards (foot) looked like two guys who had never played catch. They connected twice for 14 yards.
Edwards took responsibility for two drops, including a post that would’ve been a touchdown, but had two other balls go off his hands. Anderson threw one third-and-short pass out of bounds and threw behind Edwards on another when he was matched up in single coverage.
“I expect more than 10 points out of us,” said Anderson, who went 11-for-24 for 114 yards, a touchdown and 74.0 rating.
Anderson was also bothered by a malfunctioning headset. He couldn’t hear the play calls from the coaches and often had to run toward the sideline to confer with quarterbacks coach Rip Scherer. When that didn’t work, he would have to burn a timeout.
“The battery in the stupid headset was out,” Anderson said. “It happened in the preseason and we thought we had it fixed. It’s unfortunate it happened.”
The offense had one sustained drive — 16 plays, 78 yards, 8:57 — until the field goal when the game was out of hand. In between, they had four three-and-outs.
“We are a good football team,” said Jamal Lewis, who rushed for 62 yards on 13 carries. “We just need to pull this thing together, actually practice together and get in a good rhythm together.
“I know we’ll be all right. It’s just a wakeup call.”
The Browns have been here before. The town was shaken after the demolition by the Steelers in the opener last year, but the Browns rebounded to win the final seven at home.
“I’d love for that to happen. But there’s no guarantee,” Davis said. “We have to go out there and work.”
Veteran linebacker Willie McGinest refused to press the panic button.
“We know we’re a lot better football team than this,” he said. “We just have to go out and prove it.”
Sunday night, on NBC, against the Steelers would be the perfect time.
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

Cowboys 28, Browns 10

Dallas    7    14    7    0    —    28
Cleveland    0    7    0    3    —    10
First Quarter
Dal—Barber 1 run (Folk kick), 6:40.
Second Quarter
Cle—Winslow 2 pass from Der.Anderson (Dawson kick), 12:43.
Dal—Owens 35 pass from Romo (Folk kick), 9:48.
Dal—Barber 1 run (Folk kick), :26.
Third Quarter
Dal—F.Jones 11 run (Folk kick), 6:24.
Fourth Quarter
Cle—FG Dawson 34, 10:13.
A—73,012
    Dal    Cle
First downs    30    11
Total Net Yards    487    205
Rushes-yards    31-167    18-91
Passing    320    114
Punt Returns    2-8    2-23
Kickoff Returns    2-39    5-90
Interceptions Ret.    0-0    1-20
Comp-Att-Int    24-32-1    11-24-0
Sacked-Yards Lost    0-0    1-0
Punts    2-48.5    5-40.6
Fumbles-Lost    1-0    2-0
Penalties-Yards    11-82    9-55
Time of Possession    37:29    22:31
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Dallas, Barber 16-80, Barber 16-80, F.Jones 9-62, Choice 5-26, Romo 1-(minus 1). Cleveland, Lewis 13-62, Der.Anderson 4-24, J.Wright 1-5.
PASSING—Dallas, Romo 24-32-1-320. Cleveland, Der.Anderson 11-24-0-114.
RECEIVING—Dallas, Witten 6-96, Crayton 6-82, Owens 5-87, Barber 3-21, Barber 3-21, Stanback 2-24, Curtis 1-8, Choice 1-2. Cleveland, Winslow 5-47, Edwards 2-14, Sanders 1-18, Lewis 1-14, Steptoe 1-12, Heiden 1-9.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.
 

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