AFC North teams will get the best of the Cowboys to start the season

We are just a handful of days away from the start of Dallas Cowboys football this Sunday afternoon. The Cowboys schedule is a little tougher than it was last year thanks in part to winning the NFC East in 2023.

Dallas now faces a first place schedule, pitting them against division winners like the Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, and the Houston Texans. Tough tests are on the way, and it wouldn’t be week 1 of the NFL season without some predictions.

Today, I start a small series in which I will be predicting the results of the Cowboys’ season game by game. This series will be broken up into four parts throughout the course of this week. Weeks one through four are on deck first. Spoiler: a couple of AFC North teams get the best of the Cowboys.

Week 1: at Cleveland Browns

The Dallas Cowboys begin the 2024 regular season with a trip to Cleveland to visit Deshaun Watson, Myles Garrett, and the Browns.

The first test of the season will be a good indicator of just how much the revamped offensive line has improved. Cleveland fields a formidable defense with a front seven designed to stifle opposing offenses.

Dallas will start two rookies on the offensive line. LT Tyler Guyton draws the unenviable task of blocking annual Defensive Player of the Year candidate Myles Garrett, while C Cooper Beebe goes up against veteran DT Dalvin Tomlinson.

The performances of Guyton and Beebe will go a long way in determining how successful the offense will be at moving the ball, and in turn, the outcome of the game.

Prediction: Loss

While the Cowboys’ defense will limit Deshaun Watson, Amari Cooper, and the rest of the Browns’ offense, the growing pains on the offensive line will be too much to bear.

Myles Garrett, Za’Darius Smith, and the rest of the Browns defensive line will get to Prescott early and often, and will not let the Cowboys offense get into a rhythm. Prescott will be hit multiple times and sacked at least four times on the way to an 0-1 start to the year for Dallas.

Cleveland Browns 19
Dallas Cowboys 17

Week 2: vs New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints make the short trek from Louisiana into Texas to meet the Cowboys for their 2024 home opener at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

New Orleans has many unanswered questions this offseason after finishing the 2023 season with a 9-8 record and out of the playoffs. Will Derek Carr still start at quarterback? Or will rookie Spencer Rattler be thrown into the fire?

On defense, the Saints should still be tough to move the ball against behind the leadership of LB Demario Davis and DE Cameron Jordan. The secondary has proven to be vulnerable, and that’s where Dak Prescott and the Cowboys will attack.

Prediction: Win

Prescott and the offense will play efficient football after an inefficient opener, starting the home schedule with 30 points scored to improve their record to 1-1.

The defense overwhelms whoever is playing quarterback for the Saints, forcing them into three turnovers and holding their offense to just 13 points.

Dallas Cowboys 30
New Orleans Saints 13

Week 3: vs Baltimore Ravens

The week 3 marquee matchup will be in Arlington between the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens. Lamar Jackson comes to town, bringing the double threat of both his legs and his right arm with him.

Behind him is a stable of potent weapons like RB Derrick Henry, TE Mark Andrews, and wide receivers Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman. On the opposite side of the ball, the Ravens have studs at every level of the defense, led by LB Roquan Smith and CB Marlon Humphrey.

In a way, the Ravens and Cowboys are cut from the same cloth, and the talent they both possess throughout their rosters will likely make that matchup NFL on Fox’s Game of the Week.

Prediction: Loss

Lamar Jackson and Dak Prescott finished last season at the top of the MVP discussions, with Jackson ultimately taking home the award, much to the dismay of Cowboys Nation. This late afternoon matchup will play out the same way.

Both quarterbacks will lead their offenses in a shootout deep into the 4th quarter. Jackson again gets the best of Prescott, not giving the Cowboys offense a final chance after closing out the game with his legs to kneel out the clock and on to a three-point victory.

Baltimore Ravens 34
Dallas Cowboys 31

Week 4: at New York Giants (Thursday Night Football)

Rest will not come quickly to a Cowboys team on a short week for a Thursday night divisional matchup at the Meadowlands versus the New York Giants.

The Giants will also be on a short week and forced to travel home after a week 3 game in Cleveland. Playing at 100% health or not, the two long-time rivals will surely give 100% effort to establish dominance in the division.

New York will attempt to do so with Daniel Jones getting another opportunity as the starting quarterback and with a new toy: rookie WR Malik Nabers. Nabers was the Giants’ top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and is expected to make an immediate impact on offense.

The Giants also revamped their defensive front around Pro Bowl DT Dexter Lawrence II, adding Brian Burns on the edge opposite Azeez Ojulari or Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Prediction: Win

Despite all the improvements the Giants made in the offseason, it still is not enough to stop a Cowboys’ offense that has averaged 35 points per game over the last four meetings.

You don’t have to be a Cowboys fan to know that Daniel Jones just doesn’t have what it takes to lead the Giants to victory over Dallas. Jones has a career 1-7 record when facing the Cowboys, and that will be 1-8 when this game is over.

Dak Prescott and the offense will have their way with a Giants’ porous secondary, and the defense will force Daniel Jones into a handful of turnovers, leading to yet another double-digit victory over the rival men in blue.

Dallas Cowboys 34
New York Giants 15

Record: 2-2

After the first four games, the Cowboys are probably disappointed that they couldn’t find a way to score just three more points in Cleveland. A 3-1 record would be more palatable to the fanbase. That 2-2 record will have some calling for heads to roll.

Fortunately for HC Mike McCarthy, the turnaround from a Thursday night game to a Sunday night game 10 days later gives him the opportunity to allow the team to rest at home before an important trip to play another AFC North team.

Catch those predictions on the next installment of this short series predicting the Cowboys season.