The 2022 Dallas Cowboys will be reckoning with a first-place schedule in their attempt to maintain the top spot in the NFC East, but that may not be as daunting a task as that verbiage implies.
All things considered, Dem Boys appear to have gotten off light, and though the roster has seen a good degree of turnover since the 49ers ended the 2021 campaign at Jerry World, Dallas’ group still looks like the strongest corps in the division.
Yes, even with AJ Brown in Philly.
For a quick refresher course, the Cowboys’ slate of games includes home showdowns with the Bengals and Colts, as well as tough road tilts in Green Bay and Minnesota, where the sport luckily takes place indoors.
All that was unknown entering Thursday night was the order of these games, from crucial divisional matchups to bizarre out-of-conference battles. As soon as the horn sounded, though, we immediately snapped into prediction mode. Here’s how we predict Dallas will fight their way through 2022 behind Dak’s arm, CeeDee’s quick release off the line, and a hefty dose of Demarcus and Micah.
Hopefully, our predictions are a little rosier than Stephen A.’s, who played along spectacularly well in Thursday night’s schedule release.
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Game-by-Game predictions for 2022 Cowboys schedule release
Week 1 vs. Buccaneers: Primetime at home against Tom Brady this time to open the season instead of doing the same song and dance in Tampa, huh? Counting out Brady has always been a fool’s errand, but judging by the razor-thin margin of last year’s contest, we’ll give the Cowboys a win in a similarly tight game this time. 24-23, Win.
Week 2 vs. Bengals: The Cincinnati Bengals are the defending AFC Champions, but somehow remain underrated. They’ve shored up their troublesome line further with ex-Cowboy La’el Collins, Alex Cappa and Ted Karras, and are hungry to prove they weren’t a fluke during their 2021-22 Joe Burrow-inspired run. This feels like the first “Statement” game for an opponent on Dallas’ turf this season. Tee Higgins goes Full Randy Moss. 31-28, Loss.
Week 3 at Giants: Make no mistake about it: the New York Giants are better in 2022 than they were in 2021. Also make no mistake about it: it’s impossible to be worse. This new New York regime, led by Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll, won’t QB sneak on 3rd & 9, but the Cowboys have owned this rivalry for the better part of a decade, and that won’t end just yet. 35-24, Win.
Week 4 vs. Commanders: Who the … heck are the Commanders?! Oh. Right. Yeah. Those guys.
Wait … who the HECK are those guys?! Carson Wentz is the new Washingtonian hope, a slight downgrade from Taylor Heinicke (kidding … maybe?). Terry McLaurin is agitating for a new contract, so all communication between his phone and CeeDee Lamb’s should be cut off until further notice. The Washington offense is deeper than expected and the pass rush is hungry, but the Cowboys still win the home game (man, remember what they did on the road last year, too?!). 27-16, Win.
Week 5 at Rams: The last time these two sides met, the Rams pulled off a close victory — also at SoFi Stadium — 20-13 during the start of the COVID season (no, not that one, the other … no, not that one, either …). Now, LA’s strategy of sacrificing picks for immediate glory has been further emboldened by a Super Bowl win. The Rams are basically … what the Cowboys purport to be. Los Angeles has a near-impossible schedule in the NFC West, and will view Dallas as a let-up game. The Cowboys won’t let ’em. 28-24, Upset Win.
Week 6 at Eagles: And so goes the cycle of the NFL. Dallas will then travel to Philadelphia, coming off a big win in the beautiful fall weather, and fall victim to DeVonta Smith, AJ Brown, and the Eagles’ eternally swarming pass rush. This one will not go well. 38-21, Loss. Questions to answer.
Week 7 vs. Lions: Dan Campbell’s team plays hard. Aidan Hutchinson is a disruptor. Jared Goff has keys to the facility and knows how to use them. Rest assured, this game will start wonky. Campbell always has a few tricks and fakes up his sleeve for marquee games, and the Cowboys are still exactly that. Expect a furious rally from an early 10-0 deficit. 41-21, Win.
Week 8 vs. Bears: We won’t be able to make a genuine judgment on Justin Fields until we see him with a quality supporting cast. So … next year? This is the game everyone will be screaming “TRAP GAME!!” about. It will not be a trap game. 21-10, Win.
Week 9: BYE. Cowboys by 300.
Week 10 at Packers: Mike McCarthy’s glorious return to Lambeau Field, huh? The winds should be swirling — and not just the hot air coming out of Aaron Rodgers’ mouth, either. Typically, this is when the Pack are at their most inflated, thanks to the national media, and coming off a bye, they’ll be ready to ambush Dallas with their underrated defense. 31-24, Loss.
Week 11 at Vikings: Kirk Cousins is still under center, isn’t he? Dallas won this game with Cooper Rush last season, didn’t they? Minnesota has been the home of delightful wonkiness for several years now. We predict this one ends up, somehow, as another, “How did they lose that one?!” game for the loyal Vikes fans. 21-20, Win.
Week 12 vs. Giants: By now, Schoen and Daboll will have rounded into form. The Giants will be clicking — well, at whatever level a .500 team typically clicks at. But just like their rhyming biblical namesakes Cain and Abel, one of their untalented players will stab them in the back at the worst possible moment with a key failure. 27-24, Win.
Week 13 vs. Colts: Here comes the second “STATEMENT GAME” by a road team in Dallas. Indy, led by Jonathan Taylor’s punishing rushing attack and a veteran QB who understands how to manage a game and can win one by himself, if need be (we swear this time it’s true), the Colts will replicate what they did to the Patriots late in 2021. 31-28, Loss.
Week 14 vs. Texans: Exactly who you want to see the week after the Colts come to town! There’s very little here to speak of. Their top pick was a cornerback. No game-changers. Best of luck to Lovie Smith, a nice man. 41-14, Win.
Week 15 at Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence has shed the single most disruptive coaching situation in recent NFL history, and still-swampy Duval County will be a surprisingly difficult December road trip for a Cowboys team focused on winter weather. This is Dallas’ first of three road games in the season’s final four weeks, and it’s the easiest. 18-10, Win.
Week 16 (Christmas Eve) vs. Eagles: Grudge match! Vengeance! Time to throw it back to the days of Michael Vick and Miles Austin. Dallas reclaims their turf after struggling mightily on the road against Philly earlier in the season. The voices of a thousand sports radio callers with the same nasally Philadelphia twang causes a small earthquake on Christmas morning. 35-14, Win.
Week 17 at Titans: Even with Ryan Tannehill still under center and no AJ Brown, Derrick Henry is still an impossible force to contain. With the NFC East quite possibly locked up by Christmas, Dallas will not be properly motivated to swallow up Henry, and will suffer a dispiriting fall to earth. 28-20, Loss.
Week 18 at Commanders: BOLD PREDICTION: This game will not be flexed, though the option remains available. The 6-10 Commanders top the 11-5 Cowboys in a wire-to-wire win featuring a whole lot of Rush. 38-17, Loss.
Final Record: 11-6
4 most concerning games on the Cowboys 2022 schedule
Some are saying the Dallas Cowboys have one of the easiest 2022 schedules, but these four matchups will be very challenging for the 'Boys.