It turns out the NFL put the Dallas Cowboys in a historically ruthless situation with the 2025 schedule release
The moment the 2025 NFL season schedule was announced, the eyes of Dallas Cowboys fans everywhere were drawn to a particularly tough slate of games late in the year: Week 12 – vs Philadelphia EaglesWeek 13 – vs Kansas City Chiefs (short week)Week 14 – at Detroit LionsWeek 15 – vs Minnesota VikingsWeek 16 – […]
The moment the 2025 NFL season schedule was announced, the eyes of Dallas Cowboys fans everywhere were drawn to a particularly tough slate of games late in the year:
- Week 12 – vs Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 13 – vs Kansas City Chiefs (short week)
- Week 14 – at Detroit Lions
- Week 15 – vs Minnesota Vikings
- Week 16 – vs Los Angeles Chargers
- Week 17 – at Washington Commanders (short week)
In my schedule takeaways, that led off the list because of how punishing it is. I predicted the Cowboys to go 2-4 in that stretch. But it turns out the NFL's decision to group those games together isn't only bad for Dallas, it's historically ruthless.
According to ESPN's research producer Evan Kaplan and Elias Sports Bureau, "the Cowboys will be the first team in NFL history to play six straight games against teams that all won 11+ games the previous season."
And hey, it's important to say three consecutive games within that stretch are not only against 11-win teams, but 14+ win teams. It's absolutely wild and honestly, it comes off as a serious flaw on the NFL schedule.
To add insult to injury, throughout that six-game span, the Cowboys play both the Chiefs and the Commanders on a short week.
Now granted, the league spends plenty of resources in getting the schedule right. Maybe they didn't have another choice but it's tough to defend the schedule planning on this one.
In reality, it seems like Dallas became a victim of the league's effort to go big on holidays. The six-game stretch includes the Cowboys' games on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Usually, that doesn't necessarily mean a big-time opponent—the Cowboys have often played weaker NFC East opponents on Thanksgiving—but this year, the NFL clearly was fixated in presenting great lineups of games for those windows.
As a result, an already tough stretch of late-season games got even more difficult to balance with "easier" matchups. But the Cowboys can do nothing about it now. It's up to them to overcome the adversity the schedule presents.
