We are mere hours away from the complete unveiling of the 2024 NFL schedule.
The NFL is incapable of doing anything without making it a marquee event – and that’s a credit to them. There’s a reason why Commissioner Roger Goodell and company oversee the most powerful league in sports.
The schedule release is like Christmas Morning to many people – and it’s a sign that the season is right around the corner.
A few matchups have already been announced … We know the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will open their season with two straight tough matchups against the Ravens and Bengals – although both will be at home in Arrowhead.
Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers will make his long-awaited return – once again on Monday Night Football – against the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.
But what about “America’s Team???” … Who will the Dallas Cowboys open up against???
Well, we have our answer … As it turns out, Mike McCarthy and the Boys will travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns on the opening Sunday of the season (9/8).
No, it might not be the NFC East rivalry matchup on Sunday Night Football that we’ve become accustomed to seeing the Cowboys kick-off the season with.
For about two decades straight, it seemed like you could write Giants @ Cowboys in with a sharpie for the first SNF matchup of the season.
However, this time around, Dallas will be taking on the talented Browns in a non-conference showdown.
Interestingly, the matchup will mark Tom Brady’s official FOX Sports broadcasting debut.
Slated for 4:25pm EST on FOX, Brady will kick Greg Olsen to the curb as he joins Kevin Burkhardt and Erin Andrews on FOX’s A-team.
“Amazing. Obviously having the Cowboys on is a huge draw,” Brady said of the opening matchup.
“As ‘America’s Team’ – that’s going to get a little hard for me to say that all the time, understand they were the competition for a long time. But in this new role, I know the Cowboys, how important they are to this network, they got great storylines. C’mon, Dak Prescott, let’s see if he can finally come through.”
“Micah Parsons, what a great player he is, and coach McCarthy. So I love covering them, I’ve been obviously going against them for a long time and now I get to tell everyone how great they are,” Brady added.
All eyes (and ears) will be on Brady to see if he will actually be critical and tell it like it is. (Saying that he’s going to “tell everyone how great (the Cowboys) are” is not the most encouraging of starts.)
Sure, Dallas is loaded with talent. But the majority of their fan base will be the first to tell you that they haven’t earned the right to be labeled “great” yet.
Brady might be the biggest name in NFL history, but no one wants to listen to a broadcaster who’s scared to be critical.
This is one of the reasons why there’s so much mounting animosity towards Tony “everything is great” Romo of CBS.
Meanwhile, Monday Night Football’s Troy Aikman is the exact opposite. If you deserved to be called out, Aikman will not hesitate to do so.
Let’s see what camp Brady ends up falling in…
Surprisingly, the Browns hold a 18-14 lead in the all-time series between the two teams.
Their last meeting came in Week 4 of the 2020 season where the Browns pulled off a thrilling 49-38 victory in Dallas.
In that matchup, Dak Prescott led the way for Dallas as he threw for 502 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Amari Cooper also made his mark with 12 receptions for 134 yards and a touchdown, while CeeDee Lamb found the end zone twice.
Although Dallas faced a daunting 27-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, they rallied to score 24 unanswered points before a 50-yard touchdown run by Odell Beckham Jr. sealed the victory for Cleveland.
There will surely be a whole lot of pressure on Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson as we head into the new season.
Injuries derailed his 2023 season. However, he was struggling mightily prior to getting injured. There is great concern over the massive five-year, $230 million fully-guaranteed contract he signed two years ago.
If he doesn’t turn things around quickly, that contract could end up going down as one of the worst – if not THE worst – in NFL history.
What are your thoughts on the Cowboys opening the season up against the Browns?
How about Brady as a broadcaster? … What are your expectations?
Will he be closer to Aikman or Jason Witten as an analyst?
Now, I have to ask … What are the chances that Brady makes yet another return to the playing field?
Are we absolutely SURE that he’s retired for good???