Dallas Cowboys

Browns Insider: Dallas Cowboys fans will be shocked by this player

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:12 p.m. ET

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The Landry Hat goes behind enemy lines to get the inside scoop on the upcoming Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns matchup with Thomas Moore of Dawg Pound Daily.

Oct 16, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) reacts after being tripped up by Cleveland Browns linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah (90) in the second half at Nissan Stadium. Tennessee won 28-26. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

One of the great things about working for FanSided is our access to NFL team site experts. In this case, I was able to ask Thomas Moore, the co-expert at our Cleveland Browns site, Dawg Pound Daily, some questions about Sunday’s upcoming matchup with the Dallas Cowboys. Checkout his answers below to get a view of the upcoming contest from behind enemy lines.

1. If the Cleveland Browns defeat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, who is the one player likely the most responsible for the upset?

Thomas: Wow … uh … yeah, that’s a tough one. Let’s go with newly acquired linebacker Jamie Collins. He will know very little of the defensive playbook, which with defensive coordinator Ray Horton calling the plays may be a good thing, so Collins may be on the field just doing his own thing. In this scenario, that would include a game-changing strip sack of Dak Prescott that results in a game-winning score for the Browns.

2. The Cowboys were pretty high on Emmanuel Ogbah in the draft and targeted him in the second round before the Browns picked him. How has the rookie played so far this season?

Thomas: He hasn’t exploded on the highlight reel, but Ogbah has done OK. He originally opened camp as an outside linebacker, then spent some time at defensive end when Desmond Bryant was injured before moving back to linebacker. That has slowed his progress a bit, but Ogbah is active, consistently shows his speed, and should continue to work himself into a very productive player.

Oct 30, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor (11) runs the ball for a first down against New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis (24) during the second quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

3. Offensively, the Browns are 7th in rushing offense and 12th in the pass. And they’ve done so with several different quarterbacks under center. Can you talk about the strengths and weaknesses of this offensive unit?

Thomas: Strengths would be Terrelle Pryor, the running game as a whole and most of the offensive line.

While Pryor still has much to learn about playing the wide receiver position, he never stops working and his athleticism helps him make up for a lot of what he does not know.

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The running game has been solid, even though Isaiah Crowell has been inconsistent – he has 253 yards and a 7.4 yard-per-carry average in two games, while rushing for just 271 combined yards and a 3.7 per-carry average in his other six games.

Finally, Joe Thomas, John Greco and Austin Pasztor (as long as he is just pass blocking) have been solid along the offensive line.

The weaknesses have been at wide receiver, where Corey Coleman’s injury and Josh Gordon’s continued off-field issues stalled what was expected to be a high-powered offense before it took off.

Center Cameron Erving is also proving on a weekly basis that he is not a center. The effort and the desire are there, but if Erving is going to have a future in the NFL it will be as a tackle.

`Sep 18, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Terrance West (28) is wrapped up by the Cleveland Browns defense during the second half at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

4. Why is the Browns’ defense struggling so much this season and in what way do you fear the Cowboys offense will expose them?

Thomas: It is a bit of an unpopular opinion as he inexplicably has developed a Teflon-like quality, but the answer is defensive coordinator Ray Horton, who talks a good game about his defensive philosophies but the off-field product never backs it up.

The defensive secondary is a mess and the team can’t tackle anyone, both issues that have been ongoing for a while, but those are just more excuses that mask the fact that Horton is an average coordinator.

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He is better than the man he replaced in Jim O’Neil, but that doesn’t mean that Horton is good.

All you have to do is see that the defense is on pace to give up the most points in a 16-game season in franchise history to know that what Horton is doing is not working.

If the Cowboys do anything other than run the ball 45 times on Sunday, then head coach Jason Garrett really needs to be grilled.

The Cowboys have the league’s top rushing attack and the Browns are 31st against the run, so the game plan should be pretty obvious and easily executed come Sunday.

Oct 9, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns nose tackle Danny Shelton (55) before the game against the New England Patriots at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Patriots won 33-13. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

5. Name a player that will shock Cowboys fans on Sunday.

Thomas: Let’s go with nose tackle Danny Shelton.

It can be hard to gauge how well Shelton is playing because not everyone understands what he is being asked to do, but he has developed this season into a very good nose tackle.

6. What’s your prediction for the game?

Thomas: This is a classic game where you want to say if the Browns force three turnovers, or get a special teams score, then they will win.

But this is also a Cleveland team with more than half its roster made up of first- or second-year players, meaning that they are still learning how not to lose each week rather than figuring out how to win.

Everything would have to break right for the Browns on Sunday, and even then that may not be enough with the way this season is currently going.

Dallas 31, Cleveland 10

The Landry Hat would like to thank Thomas Moore and the great folks over at Dawg Pound Daily for their time and expertise.

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