How will Browns handle the spotlight in Dallas?

By STEVE KING

In 2019, nearly every time the Browns stepped into the national spotlight — and it was a lot of times given all the preseason hype they received — they faltered, in some cases badly so.

They just weren’t ready. They didn’t prepare well enough for it, and the things that go with it.

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It resulted in a far-worse-than-expected 6-10 finish, costing both General Manager John Dorsey and head coach Freddie Kitchen their jobs.

The Browns entered 2020 with little hype, especially in comparison to the Lake Erie-sized load they got a year ago, and they’re getting a C — an average grade — for how they’re handling it thus far. Just like in 2019, they failed miserably right off the bat, getting blown out 38-6 by the two-time defending AFC North champion Baltimore Ravens in the opener in what was billed as a measure of just where the team stood in the division. Then they rebounded four days later and handled it much, much better, defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 35-30 on Thursday Night Football in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score might seem to indicate as they built a good-sized lead and then held off the visitors’ comeback.

Now, fresh off a 34-20 victory over the rebuilding Washington Football Team last Sunday in an off-the-beaten-path game, the Browns will get a chance to break the national spotlight tie — one good job and one poor one — when they visit the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at The House That Jerry (Jones) Built, lavish, extravagant AT&T Stadium.

The Cowboys may not really be America’s Team anymore, but, with high-profile owner Jerry Jones still micromanaging nearly everything in the organization, they’re still one that much of America watches, and cares about. Indeed, everything is bigger in Texas, and that includes the Cowboys.

Even as the Cowboys last Sunday were dropping to 1-2 when they failed to hold a late lead and lost 38-31 to the Seattle Seahawks, FOX, which will telecast Browns-Dallas, was continually hyping the game in its late afternoon/early evening NFL coverage.

So, yes, the 1 p.m. game — and the 2-1 Browns — will have the eyes of the nation on them again to see if they’ve changed — if they’ve learned anything — from last year’s series of spotlight debacles. Are they up to it? Will they stand strong? Or will their knees buckle?

Without a doubt, that’s the theme — that’s the storyline — of this game for the Browns.

We shall see what happens.