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Ryan Flournoy #19 and the Dallas Cowboys have a rough opening stretch to the NFL season.
On Thursday night, amid a sort of holiday vibe around the NFL, each team excitedly revealed its official 2026 schedule, and while the Dallas Cowboys are eager to get on the field and test new defensive coordinator Christian Parker and the rebuilt defensive unit, a quick look at the dates, the opponents and the level of travel delivered a sobering reality for backers of the team: This is not gonna be easy.
The Cowboys will start with a Sunday night game in New York, on September 13, against a rebuilt but beatable Giants team in Week 1. The Cowboys have a more “normal” Week 2 setup against the Commanders for the home opener, a 4:25 p.m. ET game. But then they Cowboys hit the road against the Super Bowl contender Ravens for a “home” game in Rio, also at 4:25 ET. Many thought the Cowboys would get a break after that much travel, perhaps with a Monday night game.
Alas, no–not only does Dallas play on Sunday afternoon in Week 4 in Houston against the AFC contender Texans, they’re back at it for a Thursday night game in Week 5 against Tampa at home. It gets no easier from there, with Sunday night in Week 6 in Green Bay, and Monday night in Week 7 against the Eagles on the road.
All right, so let’s tally that up. In the first seven games, the Cowboys play just two games at AT&T Stadium, and are facing at least four conference championship contenders in that mix. And if you think they can exhale after that, they can’t: The Cowboys’ bye week is not until Week 14, December 13.
The complete look:
There were some brow-raised reactions to what the Cowboys have ahead on social media.
From Cowboys writer Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News: “Initial thoughts: – Three games in 11 days, including a trip to Rio de Janeiro, is brutal for the start of the season. – A really late bye for a team that does a lot of early travel.”
From Cowboys beat writer Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “The Cowboys’ early season stretch is an absolute nightmare. Traveling 11 hours back from Rio de Janeiro, going on the road for a noon game in Houston, and turning around for a Thursday night game all in 11 days will be incredibly difficult. All of that, just to go back on the road for back-to-back games against the Packers and Eagles. We’ll know a lot about this team in the season’s first seven weeks.
And longtime beat writer Clarence Hill of DLLS Cowboys noted, “Cowboys toughest stretch is at start of the season…no easing in .. two division games, then Ravens in Rio, at Texans, Buccaneers at home, at Packers on Sunday night and at Eagles on Monday night. Cowboys have six primetime games, not counting Thanksgiving Day and Rio vs. Ravens and the featured Thanksgiving Day game vs. the Eagles.”
Jon Machota, Cowboys writer for The Athletic, got a look at the schedule and nudged down expectations for the team. He gave them a projection of 10-7.
Machota wrote on the site: “That early stretch is brutal. I think the Cowboys will split with the Eagles and Commanders, going 4-2 in the division. I think they’ll end up 4-4 on the road with wins at New York, Houston, Indianapolis and Los Angeles. I think they’ll win six home games: Commanders, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Titans, Eagles and Giants. Ten wins should be enough to get Dallas back in the playoffs for the first time in the last three years.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including "Fun City," "Before Wrigley became Wrigley," and "Facing Michael Jordan." More about Sean Deveney
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