Against the Browns on Sunday, the Cowboys did something they had trouble doing last season: starting strong. Dallas also repeated what happened in most of the games a year ago: pulling away in the second half.

Marion Barber provided the strong running early the game, which set up big throws to Jason Witten and Terrell Owens. Barber had two short touchdowns in the first half, and Tony Romo found a wide open Owens on a post route. The second Barber touchdown with 29 seconds left in the half gave the Cowboys a 21-7 lead.

Felix Jones scored a touchdown on his first NFL carry in the third quarter, which increased the Dallas lead to 28-7. The game wasn’t close after that, though Romo’s otherwise perfect day was flawed when he threw an interception in the end zone late in the third quarter. Cleveland could only manage a field goal for the rest of the way out, as the Cowboys rolled to a 28-10 win.

Rate the Cowboys

In the polls below, rate the various players and categories. I will keep a tab of these as the season progresses.

My votes for Cowboys’ offense:

Tony Romo – Five Stars: Romo’s only real mistake was the poor pass in the back of the end zone. It was just as much Felix Jones’ fault on the play, however, as Willie McGinest bowled over Jones to put pressure on Romo. Otherwise, Romo had an outstanding day, throwing for more than 300 yards for the 11th time in his career. The team record in this category is 13, held by Troy Aikman.

Marion Barber – Five Stars: Barber run tough as usual, and he averaged 5.0 yards per carry on the day.

Terrell Owens – Five Stars: Owens had a solid performance with five receptions for 87 yards, and he could have been even more productive, as Romo wasn’t able to get the ball to him on a couple of longer passes.

Patrick Crayton – Five Stars: It should be tough for everyone on the offense to get five stars, but Crayton made some great catches today. In the third quarter, Romo threw the ball over Crayton’s back shoulder, and it looked as if defensive back Brandon McDonald might pick it off. But Crayton managed to snag the ball and turned the play into a 17-yard gain.

Jason Witten – Five Stars: Witten had a pretty bad drop in the second quarter on what turned out to be a touchdown drive, but otherwise he dominated the middle of the field.

Pass Blocking – Five Stars: The Browns eventually got to Romo in the second half, but there were a few plays where Romo just stood behind the line without a hint of a Cleveland player near him.

Run Blocking – Five Stars: Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice combined for 168 yards on the ground with a 5.6 yard-per-carry average.

Role Players and Backups – Four Stars: Felix Jones just about broke three long runs and finished with 62 yards. Isaiah Stanback caught his first two NFL passes, while Tony Curtis caught his first NFL pass that wasn’t a touchdown. Tashard Choice ran well at the end of the game as well. Martellus Bennett did not show up on the stat sheet.

Penalties – Four Stars: Of the Cowboys’ 11 penalties, eight were on offensive players. Two penalties were on Terrell Owens for unsportsmanlike conduct and offensive pass interference, and another penalty was called for illegal formation. The other five were on offensive lineman Flozell Adams (2 for 15 yards), Leonard Davis (1 for 10 yards), Marc Columbo (1 for 5 yards), and Cory Proctor (1 for 10 yards).

My votes for Cowboys’ defense:

Run Support – Five Stars: Cleveland only ran the ball 18 times, and four of those runs were by quarterback Derek Anderson. Jamal Lewis had some decent runs, but he was never really a factor after midway through the first half.

Pass Rush – Four Stars: This could have been better. DeMarcus Ware recorded a sack, but he was not as disruptive as normal. The Cowboys’ blitzes generated some pressure, but Anderson usually had time to throw the ball.

Tackling – Four Stars: Overall, the tackling appeared to be solid. Ken Hamlin had a couple of solid hits, and there were only a few instances were Dallas really had trouble bringing Lewis down. One of those was a 24-yard run right after a Romo pass was intercepted in the end zone by Eric Wright late in the third quarter.

Coverage – Five Stars: Even without Terence Newman, Dallas had a solid day. Anderson had some success to start the game, but he failed to complete a pass for nearly two full quarters. There were a couple of scares, though, including pass in the first quarter that Braylon Edwards dropped after he had beaten Anthony Henry to the post. That said, limiting a Pro Bowl quarterback to 114 yards ought to be good enough for five stars.

Penalties – Four Stars Two of the Cowboys’ three defensive penalties occurred on third down plays. Pacman Jones was called for defensive pass interference in the end zone, which allowed the Browns to score a touchdown early in the second quarter. Dallas did not have a single defensive penalty in the second half.

My votes for Cowboys’ special teams:

Nick Folk (Field Goals and Kickoffs) – Four Stars: Folk was consistent on his kickoffs, which was pretty much his only job besides extra points.

Mat McBriar – Four Stars McBriar only punted twice but averaged 48.5 yards on those two kicks. His net average was 37 yards.

Coverage Units – Four Stars: Kickoff coverage was solid for the most part, as Cleveland only averaged 18 yards per return. Syndric Steptoe had a couple of decent punt returns.

Return Game – Three Stars: The return game was almost entirely a non-factor. Pacman Jones muffed a punt in the third quarter but was able to recover.

Penalties – Five Stars: Dallas did not commit a single penalty on special teams.