The Dallas Cowboys hopped out to an early lead against the Cleveland Browns in their week one matchup and never looked back.

While the Cowboys put together a relatively complete performance on both sides of the ball to help them come out on top with a 33-17 victory, it was another aspect of the game that could go a long way in future, closer games.

The Dallas Cowboys and K Brandon Aubrey exploited the NFL’s new kickoff rule

Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey has already proven himself to be an extremely valuable weapon as a field goal kicker. He continued his campaign to be considered one of the best kickers in the league against the Browns with four made field goals.

While field goal consistently is the most tangible way for a kicker to help their team, the NFL’s new kickoff rule may have provided another avenue for kickers to make an impact on the outcome of games.

The new NFL kickoff, known as the “dynamic” kickoff, involves a landing zone from the 20-yard line to the end zone. Any kick in that landing zone must be returned, but a lot of kickers in week one still decided to blast their kickoffs through the end zone, giving the returning team the ball on the 30-yard line.

Aubrey tried something different. He was putting a weird spin on the ball and trying to land it away from the returners, forcing them to run up and catch kicks with unnatural spin.

Aubrey forced two bobbled returns and scared the returns so much that they let the ball roll into the end zone for a 20-yard touchback as opposed to a 30-yard touchback.

Dallas Cowboys K Brandon Aubrey’s impact is hard to quantify

While the Cowboys likely would’ve won without Aubrey’s unique kickoffs, it is impossible to tell the way it altered returns. Would-be touchdowns could’ve been turned into uneventful returns because the returner had to take an extra second to secure the ball.

If Aubrey and the Cowboys can continue to put returners in unconventional positions, it could pay off big in the field position battle and/or the turnover battle. San Francisco 49ers special teams coordinator Brian Schneider explained that the new kickoff is strange in an article from the Associated Press.

“I think everyone that sees it for the first time, it’s really strange because you see the kickoff and I’m standing right here and, it’s like you’re in space. You never see that happen without everyone moving,” San Francisco special teams coordinator Brian Schneider said.

“And so, it’s really like the music went off and everything, I was like in the ‘Twilight Zone’ and then when it happens, it’s just, it’s really fast.”

Returners are already uncomfortable with doing something in a completely new way. If Aubrey can exploit that discomfort, the Cowboys might get an extra game-changing turnover or prevent a big return play.