CLEVELAND — Myles Garrett spent time before the Browns season opener revealing in the pregame energy of the fans tailgating in the Muni Lot. He spent time in the postgame understanding the boos those same fans later rained down on him and his teammates during a 33-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year said he felt the impact of both emotions. He also couldn't argue against either emotion.

"They have the right to tell us however they feel," Garrett said. "I mean, if we're playing, if we're not playing well, they have the right to boo. We're kicking ass, they got the right to cheer. It's their privilege. They come in, they paid to see us do well and we didn't.

"And we got to put on better performances if we expect them to go out there and support us in full force. So we got to be better. And that's all on us."

The first noticeable boos started to fall on the Browns with about 19 seconds remaining in the first half. They got even louder as they left the field at halftime, trailing 20-3, and only a delay of game penalty against the Cowboys kept a record-tying 66-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey from adding to that lead.

Instead, the penalty wiped the kick, which cleared the crossbar, off the board. It didn't wipe away the overall bad vibes that filled the stadium.

Those bad vibes can turn good in the span of a week, though. It all depends on what the Browns do next Sunday afternoon at the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"I can speak until I'm blue in the face about resilience and how unrelenting we are, but at the end of the day the fans gave us what they thought we were throughout the game," Garrett said. "So we have to go out and put on a better performance. We have to give them [something to] be proud of. And today wasn't our best day, but we got to go out and come out smoking next week. And we will."

Garrett saw first-hand how quickly the vibes can change Sunday. Cleveland was bustling on the crisp, sunny September day, waiting for the prime late-afternoon spotlight to shine on its team.

In the midst of the fans' pregame revelry, Garrett and Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell ventured into the heart of the party. They showed up in the Muni Lot leading cheers and, in Mitchell's case, even playing some keg bowling.

"It was excitement for this game, this season," Garrett said. "I think it was a good choice to keep the energy high with the fan base, but also as a team and set the expectations high. You do something like that, and when you put on yourself, your defense, your team to have a great game, and it wasn't here today, but we're going to continue to keep on striving for better, striving for greatness."

It was there very early for the defense. After a hold negated Dallas' first offensive play, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson practically negated Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott with an up-the-middle sack.

The Browns forced a punt, which they turned into a 3-0 lead. The unraveling started on the next Dallas series, beginning with a perfectly placed and perfectly covered 34-yard pass from Prescot to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and ending with a perfectly placed but terribly covered 21-yard touchdown pass from Prescott to Brandin Cooks and a 7-3 Cowboys lead.

That proved to be the initial hole in the dam. It completely broke over three of the Cowboys' final four possessions of the first half, which ended in a touchdown run by Ezekiel Elliott and two field goals by Aubrey.

"I just think was a bit, with them getting on ball a little bit quicker, us having to speed up our time on the ball in communication," Garrett said of the change after the first drive. "I don't think we were communicating well enough and quick enough to keep up with them at their pace.

"We settled in a bit, but we have to get more takeaways. … They kept on chipping away. Even when they weren't scoring touchdowns, they were getting field goals and increasing the lead."

Which only increased the volume of the boos falling on the Browns.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Myles Garrett understands Browns fans' boos during loss to Cowboys