ARLINGTON, Texas -- At this point, maybe it's a good thing there is a limit on the number of Dallas Cowboys fans allowed at AT&T Stadium because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Cowboys announced a crowd of 25,021 Sunday. Imagine if they had their normal 90,000-plus in attendance to watch what was on display in their 49-38 loss to the Cleveland Browns (3-1).

This was the Browns; not the Kansas City Chiefs (3-0). This was the Browns, who lost leading rusher Nick Chubb in the first half to injury. This was the Browns, who had not scored 30 points in three straight games since 1968.

Those Browns had 31 in the first half.

Through four games, the Cowboys have allowed 146 points, the most in franchise history. The expansion Cowboys in 1960 allowed 136 points in the first four games on their way to an 0-11-1 finish. In 2000, the Cowboys allowed 135 points in their first four games on their way to a 5-11 finish.

The Cowboys allowed 24 first downs in the first half. They did not allow more than 23 in any of the first three games. They allowed 333 yards in the first two quarters and 7.7 yards per play. To pile on, the Cowboys also allowed the most rushing yards in a game (307) in team history. The previous high for Dallas was 306 rushing yards allowed against the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2000 season opener.

The Dallas offense is not completely without blame. Back-to-back turnovers by quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott in the second quarter were turned into 14 points by the Browns.

The Cowboys made it interesting to where you could think about the possibility of the second-largest comeback win in NFL history. Prescott's second touchdown pass of the day went to CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper's 2-point rush cut what was a 41-14 deficit to 41-38 with 3:42 to play.

Then the Cowboys' defense got in their own way again.

Cleveland wideout Odell Beckham Jr. opened the scoring with a 37-yard touchdown catch from Jarvis Landry, and he ended it with a 50-yard run for a touchdown. Cowboys end Aldon Smith could not get to Beckham for what would have been a 12-yard loss on the reverse. Beckham zig-zagged through the Cowboys defense for what turned out to be the game-ending score.

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has a 1-3 record for the second time in his coaching career. In 2006, his first year with the Green Bay Packers, he started out 1-4 and finished 8-8. He has never had a team start 1-3 and make the playoffs.

Five times his Packers were 2-2 after four games and four times they ended up making the playoffs.

QB breakdown: Prescott became the first player in NFL history with three straight games with at least 425 yards passing. He threw four more touchdown passes on Sunday. But he had two more giveaways with a second-quarter fumble and a fourth-quarter interception that ended any thoughts of a comeback with 1:36 to play. He threw for 174 yards in the first quarter, the most by a Cowboys' quarterback in franchise history. Tony Romo had 167 in the first quarter on his way to 506 yards in a 51-48 loss to the Denver Broncos in 2013. Prescott finished with 502 yards on 41-of-58 passing in the loss to the Browns.

Troubling trend: In the first four games, Cowboys' opponents have started eight possessions inside Dallas territory and they have scored a touchdown or a field goal seven times. The Browns scored a touchdown on their only drive that started inside Cowboys' territory. The only time the Cowboys have not allowed points in that situation? That instance occurred in the season opener when the Los Angeles Rams took a knee to kill off the final six seconds of their 20-17 win. The offense can't put the defense in such bad spots, but the defense still has to react better to quick-change situations.