It appears the schedule makers gave the Cowboys a break when arranging their opponents.
The 2025 NFL season will be one of change for the Dallas Cowboys. We mentioned last week that this season will mark the first time that the team will have a new head coach and new offensive and defensive coordinators since 2007. The new staff features first time head coach Brian Schottenheimer, first-time offensive coordinator, and former Cowboys coach Matt Eberflus, who returns to the defensive coordinator position after a head coaching stint with the Chicago Bears.
The new Cowboys will also feature a lot of new players. Between free agency, the draft, and trades, there will be a lot of new faces in new places. This is what we should expect entering the new season:
- a new starting running back, Javonte Williams
- a new starting wide receiver, George Pickens
- a new starting right guard, Tyler Booker
- a new edge rusher, Dante Fowler
- a new linebacker group featuring Kenneth Murray and Jack Sanborn
- a new starting cornerback, TBD
The new-look Cowboys have the potential of having seven new starters.
With all these changes, it could mean a rocky transition for the 2025 Cowboys. With new personnel, new schemes, and several players developing chemistry with their new teammates, it’s reasonable to expect things to be bumpy early on. Additionally, the Cowboys have been notorious for not playing many of their key starters in the preseason, leading to some “rust” during the first month of the season.
All of these factors could point to a rough beginning for the Cowboys. Thankfully, the schedule makers decided to go easy on Dallas early on with a handful of “weaker” opponents on the docket in the first part of the season. Things do pick up after the first ten games, but by then, the Cowboys should have their act together. Now, what that ultimately equates to remains to be seen, but at least things won’t be so difficult early on. Here is how the schedule breaks down between the two parts, with their opponents’ projected win totals shown to the left.
The Eagles are the only team over the first ten games that has a win total projection over 10, whereas in the final seven games of the season, they’ll have a three-game stretch against teams that all have win total projections over 10.
Obviously, we don’t know how good each of the Cowboys’ opponents will be, but it is nice to see that, at least on paper, there are some easier matches early on when the team is still trying to figure some things out.
If the Cowboys struggle in the first couple of months of the season, it won’t look good for the boys in blue, as that should only mean even more struggles down the stretch. Conversely, if they play well enough to string together some wins while they are gradually ramping up, this could make things interesting when late November rolls around.
It’s never easy when a team undergoes big changes, and the Cowboys will have their share of challenges, but having a team-friendly schedule doesn’t hurt. The season hasn’t even begun yet, but things are already off to a good start.
