A bye week for the Dallas Cowboys is exactly what they needed

After starting out the season 4-3, the Dallas Cowboys are at the perfect time to have a bye week and get back on track heading into Week 9.

Sometimes a bye week can be a negative thing, while other times it can be positive. They can either give a much needed break for regrouping, or they can hinder a hot streak with time off. For the Dallas Cowboys, a bye week tends to be a good thing.

Sitting at first place in the NFC East, Dallas is 4-3 and a perfect 3-0 in divisional games. Although that seems like the season is going well at the surface, there is more to the story. Just two weeks ago, the Cowboys lost to the winless New York Jets. Even to this point, the Cowboys are the Jets’ only win of the season.

With the team starting to get a bit banged up, a bye week in Week 8 will be perfect. This will give guys like Tyron Smith, La’el Collins, Leighton Vander Esch, Byron Jones, Anthony Brown, Amari Cooper, and Zack Martin time to rest. These seven starters have all been battling injured over the past several weeks.

The next game on the schedule is Monday, November 4 against the New York Giants. Not only is this a game Dallas should cruise through, but since it is a Monday night game, they will have an extra day of rest.

This bye week will give the Cowboys time to rest and heal for the difficult stretch ahead against teams like the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, Buffalo Bears, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams, and Philadelphia Eagles. Dallas will need to be healthy and at full strength to tackle this extremely tough stretch of games to finish the regular season.

Not only will the bye week be good for rest, but also for improving the roster through trade. In the 2018 season, Dallas traded for Amari Cooper during their bye week. This season, the Cowboys recently traded for defensive end Michael Bennett from the New England Patriots. On the season, he has 2.5 sacks through six games. He also has veteran experience with 101 career starts while producing 65.5 sacks and a Super Bowl.

The Dallas Cowboys also are historically great under Dak Prescott after their bye weeks. Since Prescott was drafted, Dallas has gone 22-8 after their bye week in three seasons.

• 2018: 7-2
• 2017: 7-4
• 2016: 8-2

It is safe to say the Cowboys are great in the later parts of the seasons since Prescott took over. With the high rate of success after bye weeks, the time to get healthy, and the addition of Michael Bennett, the Dallas Cowboys should be ready to go in Week 9 against the Giants and beyond.