Top 10 takeaways from Cowboys 2023 schedule, plus preseason matchups
The Dallas Cowboys’ schedule is now out and fans can start planning their fall travel. With the addition of a 17th game, NFL teams alternate between having eight or nine home games each season. This year, Dallas has just eight, which means they’ll have two preseason games.
That makes things interesting considering the Cowboys have their training camp in Oxnard, CA. Dallas prefers to line up California road opponents, or at least western US teams to go visit for the first exhibition but not this year. In 2023, Dallas will make a road trip back to Texas to host.
PS Week 1: vs Jacksonville
PS Week 2: @ Seattle
PS Week 3: vs Las Vegas
As for the regular season schedule, here are some thoughts on how it all fits together.
New York, New York big city of dreams
Dallas kicks off their schedule with both of the New Jersey York teams. The season once again starts with a faceoff against the Gotham Knights on the road, then Texas welcomes Aaron Rodgers and the new-look Jets.
Since 2012, Dallas has faced the Giants in the opener six times with four of them at night. The Cowboys have opened against Tom Brady each of the last two seasons but with him retired, it’s back to the comfortable ratings magnet.
California dreamin'
Dallas’ season ended by the bay, but California has always been home away from home for the Cowboys. Aside from spending training camp in Oxnard, the club gets a lot of road support out by the Pacific. This year, there’s a back to back West Coast trip, will the team stay out west or return home in between?
Week 5’s rematch with the 49ers is followed by Week 6’s visit to the Chargers.
As an added twist, Dallas gets their bye week next, but then welcome the other Cali team to Texas, the Los Angeles Rams.
Defense's roughest stretch
Week 14 through Week 17 will really test Dan Quinn’s defense. Nobody repeats as the league’s leader in forced turnovers. That is, until Quinn hit Dallas.
They’ll need to create additional possessions for their offense against a slew of top-10 offenses in 2023. The Eagles (3rd), Bills (2nd), Dolphins (7th) and Lions (5th) were all juggernauts in terms of DVOA last year.
But overall, it's a good schedule for Quinn
The Cowboys do have some teams on their schedule that didn’t have the best offenses in 2022. Of the bottom-10 DVOA offenses, Dallas squares off against six of them in 2023.
There are caveats on a couple of them, however. If Rams’ (23rd) QB Matt Stafford is still viable, they’ll be better and the Jets (26th) now have Aaron Rodgers. Other lower-tier offenses include the Patriots (25th), Panthers (27th), Washington (28th) and Arizona (30th).
Not many easy defenses for McCarthy, Dak to feast on
Things change year to year, of course, but the Dallas offense doesn’t have a bunch of cake-walk opponents from the looks of things. From the teams which finished in the bottom 10 in defensive DVOA, only the Panthers (25th), Lions (28th) and Giants (29th) are on the schedule this year.
As for the top defenses? Seven of their 17 contests are against top-10 DVOA defenses from 2022: SF (1st), New England (3rd) Buffalo (4th), Eagles (6th x2), and Washington (9th x2).
Speaking of McCarthy and Dak...
Kyle Shanahan clash No. 3 followed by facing off against Kellen Moore for the first time?
El Oh El.
All eyes on me
With six primetime games plus the Thanksgiving matchup with Washington, seven of Dallas’ 17 games will occur when the entire football world is watching them play.
That ties for the second-most in the league with the Buffalo Bills. Interestingly enough, these two ratings powerhouses face each other, but not in primetime.
The leader? The world champion Kansas City Chiefs, of course, with eight.
Sorry, scribes
For fans, it’s very exciting for the team to play under the lights with everyone watching. For those fortunate enough to cover the team for a living, those games are difficult asks. After the game is over for the players, it continues for those who write and create content, so night games that don’t end until 11 pm or so are pretty tough.
The rare noon kickoff allows said personnel to actually have some time to recuperate, but Dallas only has three such games in 2023. That’s only if the Week 18 Washington game doesn’t get flexed.
No Murderer's Row-d trip
The Cowboys avoided the dreaded three-straight road game gauntlet this season, something that has only happened twice in the last 15 campaigns (2006, 2021).
Home, Sweet Home
They do however get three-straight home games during the second half of the season.
After playing at Carolina with a noon kickoff in Week 11, they will be back in Texas to sleep in their own beds. They then have a short week of prep before facing Washington for Thanksgiving. The mini-bye has to wait as they play Seattle the following Thursday, but then they get 10 days to prep for their second matchup with the Eagles.
All in all, Dallas will not leave the state of Texas for almost a full month, from the night of November 19 until the morning of December 16.
