Tonight at 7 p.m. CDT, the NFL will finally release the full schedule for the upcoming 2025 NFL season.
In addition to their season-opener against the Eagles in Philadelphia, we’ll finally know who the Cowboys are set to play all 18 weeks. We’ll also know which week will be their bye week too.
But we already do know a few things now.
One More Game Away
This year, Dallas will have only eight games at home – hopefully all at AT&T Stadium – against nine games on the road.
Last year, the extra home game did not prove advantageous to the Cowboys. They lost their first five home games of the 2024 season, three with Dak Prescott as the starter at quarterback.
Dallas finished a dismal 2-7 at home last season, beating the Giants on Thanksgiving Day and edging out Tampa Bay in the home finale.
Incredibly, the Cowboys won their first road games in 2024, with Prescott still in the lineup, and finished 5-3 on the road for the year.
Traditionally, teams usually fare better at home than away. But that might be the perfect exemplar of how south the 2024 campaign went.
The only day on the calendar we can mark down as a certain home game at this point is Nov. 27th.
The Cowboys will be hosting someone that afternoon following the conclusion of whomever the Lions are hosting earlier that day in Detroit.
But who are the leading candidates among the 14 teams Dallas plays in 2025?
The Automatic Six
The Cowboys, as does every other NFL team, plays their divisional rivals twice each year. The home-and-home series has been a staple for decades in the NFL.
The Eagles, Giants, and Commanders will all come to Arlington at some point this fall and Dallas will make the return trip to each as well.
That leaves 11 games on the schedule, and we do already know which 11 teams Dallas will play, if not the where and when those games will take place.
In addition to hosting Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, the Cowboys’ other five home opponents will be:
- Green Bay Packers
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Minnesota Vikings
- Arizona Cardinals
None of those teams will be easy outs. In fact, the odds of another two-wins-at-home season are currently uncomfortably high.
The combined records of these eight teams in 2024 was 88-48, a .647 winning percentage.
The Packers humiliated the Cowboys the last time they were in Arlington, 48-32, and have won the last five games played in Arlington.
They have won the last five meetings between the two teams overall.
The Chiefs have merely made it to three-straight Super Bowls and appear to be gearing up for a fourth straight title run. The Chargers went 11-6 last year as Jim Harbaugh is building yet another winning team.
The Vikings went toe-to-toe with Detroit and had to settle for a wild card berth as a 14-3 team in 2024.
The Cardinals did finish 8-9 last year. They, along with the Giants, might be the two certain home wins for Dallas in 2025.
Kings Of The Road?
The Cowboys will need to replicate their road success of last year this fall. Especially with that extra road game on the schedule.
Here’s who they will be visiting this fall, in addition to the three NFC East away games:
- Chicago Bears
- Denver Broncos
- Detroit Lions
- Las Vegas Raiders
- New York Jets
- Carolina Panthers
As things stand now, at least a four-wins-on-road mark is very doable.
The Giants should be beatable, along with Chicago, Las Vegas, and New York’s other team. Carolina might be a win, although they are showing signs of being a better team than the team Dallas beat last year.
But Philadelphia, Washington, Detroit, and Denver are going to be difficult wins to capture on the road.
The Cowboys’ road opponents went 73-80 last year, a .477 winning percentage.
For the overall season in 2024, the Cowboys’ 2025 opponents were 161-128 (.557).
Luck Of The Draw
Some of how the Cowboys’ 2025 campaign will play out will come down to the schedule itself.
Do they catch some of their stronger opponents at down times in the season? Will the bye week come at the right time to help an ailing squad heal?
Or will it come at the wrong time, derailing early momentum?
Will the schedule put Dallas on a run of several consecutive games against their stronger opponents? Or will they get three of four easy games in a row?
Injuries, bad calls, just plain bad breaks, will all play a role. But on Wednesday we’ll have an idea of how favorable the schedule will be.
Then it will be up to the Cowboys to go out and play the games.
More importantly, win more games than they lose, unlike last season.
