When and Where: Week 1 in Philly, Week 12 in Dallas
Last season: Went 3-5 with Dak Prescott, and 4-5 without him.
Added: Robert Jones, Kenneth Murray, George Pickens, Javonte Williams, Dante Fowler, Solomon Thomas
Lost: Eric Kendricks, Jourdan Lewis, Chauncey Golston, Zack Martin, Rico Dowdle, Cooper Rush, Brandin Cooks, Demarcus Lawrence
Players added or lost in order of snaps played last season.
Top draft picks: Tyler Booker, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Shavon Revel
Biggest question facing this team: Is this a serious franchise?
It is a great time to be a Cowboys hater. New Cowboys head Brian Schottenheimer is the Dave Campo of Jason Garretts. No other team in the league would have hired Schottenheimer to be their offensive coordinator, the Cowboys made him their head coach. Also he’s pretty cheap. Surely just a coincidence for a franchise that has allowed their previous two head coaches to walk on expired contracts in lame duck seasons rather than fire them and pay for two coaches at once.
On paper, the Cowboys have the talent to win games. In 2022. In 2024, they went 3-7 against playoff teams, with four of those losses being blowouts. Their offensive line is now a liability and Tyler Booker isn’t going to turn it around on his own; their running game remains non-existent, adding a RB who wasn’t good enough for the equally RB challenged Broncos isn’t going to turn it around; their solution to upgrade their passing game was trading for George Pickens. Brian Schottenheimer isn’t elevating this roster. He couldn’t last year.
This team is going to be bad. Potentially really bad. Dallas hasn’t been truly bad on merit since the Dave Campo era from 2000-2002 where they went 5-11 every year, their losing seasons since then have come in years when their starting QB missed several games. Dak Prescott, who has missed at least five games in three of the last five seasons, could start every game this year, play well, and the Cowboys might still go 5-12. It is a great time to be a Cowboys hater.
Making this game the first of the season was a poor choice by the league. The Thursday kickoff game has traditionally been the defending champions against either a playoff team or a supposed up and coming team. The Cowboys are neither.
The Eagles should sweep the Cowboys this season, but to steal a line, the cemetery of football is filled with favorites. The season opener should not be slept on. Divisional games are always capable of having funky results, and while the Eagles have yet to lose a season opener under Nick Sirianni, the last three were not the smoothest of games. They also haven’t swept a full strength Cowboys team since 2011, which was the first full season with Brian Schottenheimer Jason Garrett as head coach.
