Cowboys Week 1 opponent revealed with most obvious Tom Brady twist possible

The NFL will release its 2024 schedule in full on Wednesday night. Leading up to the reveal, fans should expect leaks to trickle out. Given that the Dallas Cowboys are arguably the biggest draw in the league, it's widely assumed that at least one of their matchups would get disclosed before the big reveal.

Sure enough, that's exactly what has happened. It was announced Monday that the Cowboys will travel to Cleveland to play the Browns in Week 1. The game will be broadcast on Fox, presumably as America's Game of the Week: a familiar platform for the Cowboys.

It's not the NFC East rivalry game or Sunday Night Football affair fans expected, but it does include a twist that makes it a must-see matchup: it will mark Tom Brady's broadcasting debut.

Cowboys to play Browns in Week 1 on Fox with Tom Brady making his broadcasting debut

You just knew the NFL had something special planned for the Cowboys in Week 1. While the Browns aren't the national draw that Dallas is, Tom Brady along will attract millions of viewers. After all, "The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady" streamed lived on Netflix on Sunday night and drew two million viewers, according to Forbes.

Not long after retiring, Brady inked a mammoth 10-year contract worth $375 million to become Fox's lead color commentator. The deal made the seven-time Super Bowl champ the highest-paid sports commentator ever. He'll work alongside play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt, who in many ways has become the voice of the Cowboys given how often they play on Fox's feature game of the week.

Moving beyond the Brady variable, playing the Browns in September is a win for the Cowboys. Cleveland is a physical team that loves to run the football. Those were arguably Dallas' biggest kryptonite last season.

While Dallas is expected to be more physical under Mike Zimmer and emphasize stopping the run, it's impossible to deny that this is better than the alternative, like visiting Cleveland in December or January when temperatures are below freezing.

A potential downside of the matchup is first-round pick Tyler Guyton locking horns with Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Other compelling storylines include Micah Parsons and Garrett going head-to-head as the league's best pass rushers and the Cowboys facing old friend Amari Cooper, who was foolishly traded to the Browns during the 2022 offseason.

Leave it to the NFL to make an otherwise vanilla Cowboys matchup must-see television.

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