Ranking the Cowboys’ 5 primetime games on 2022 NFL schedule

The Dallas Cowboys are one of many NFL teams to have five primetime games on their 2022 schedule. Although many analysts are saying that the Cowboys have quite an easy schedule this year, there are still some tough games in there. Plus, the pressure of playing with the bright lights of primetime is always an added element.

Sadly, most of the Cowboys’ more challenging and exciting games won’t be in primetime this year. Their battles against the Bengals, Packers, and Rams will be day games. These five on their schedule, however, will have all eyes on Dallas:

1. Week 1 vs Buccaneers – Sunday Night Football
2. Week 3 @ Giants – Monday Night Football
3. Week 6 @ Eagles – Sunday Night Football
4. Week 13 vs Colts – Sunday Night Football
5. Week 17 @ Titans – Thursday Night Football

Of course, some of the later games on the schedule could get changed to primetime, but we can’t account for any of those at this time. Now that you know which games get national TV time, let’s rank them in order of excitement.

Ranking the Cowboys’ 5 primetime games on the 2022 NFL schedule

5. Week 3 @ Giants – Monday Night Football

Yes, this is a rivalry game. Yes, it’s on the road. But the reality is that the Cowboys should easily beat the New York Giants in this matchup. After coming off two very tough opening games against the Bucs and Bengals, the Cowboys will view this contest as a much-needed break.

Even though the Giants have a new GM and head coach, it’s highly unlikely that this franchise has a massive turnaround by three weeks into the season. Plus, their quarterback is coming off a severe neck injury that cut a big chunk of his 2021 season short. This team will have a lot of figuring things out to still do when the Cowboys head to East Rutherford. It’s hard to imagine huge improvements after a 4-13 season even with the changes made.

Plus, even if Daniel Jones ends up being the prodigy they thought he would be early on, the team has a disappointing WR in Kenny Golladay who has been eating up their salary cap and repaid them with zero touchdowns scored in 2021.

First-time head coach Brian Daboll certainly has his hands full.

4. Week 6 @ Eagles – Sunday Night Football

Once again, a rivalry game will always bring the fun. But this Week 6 matchup won’t be nearly as fun as the Week 12 Christmas Eve matchup. By Week 12, season records will mean more, the race for the playoffs will be in full swing, and the holiday spirit will bring out the best in these teams.

This, however, is the Cowboys’ first look at a brand new Eagles roster. Philly made a lot of exciting offseason additions with the signings of A.J. Brown and Haason Reddick. They also had an amazing draft haul bringing in some very exciting defensive talent.

But, similar to the Giants, it’s unlikely that the Eagles will have put all of those new pieces in place this early on. Jalen Hurts is still a major question mark and with new/young players throughout the roster, it may take a bit of time for this team to gel.

Cowboys vs Eagles games will definitely be more exciting in 2022, but this isn’t the matchup we wish was on primetime.

3. Week 17 @ Titans – Thursday Night Football

This should be quite a game. With playoff seeding on the line and a road game against a formidable opponent late in the season, the Cowboys will have their hands full with this matchup. There’s also the fact that the last time these two teams met in primetime, the Titans had a commanding 28-14 victory.

Tennessee has a lot to prove as a team that has won their division two years in a row but has suffered from early playoff exits many times. A.J. Brown is now on the Eagles, but the team did pick up Robert Woods from the Rams and Treylon Burks in the draft. A healthy Derrick Henry is also always a force to be reckoned with for any defense in the NFL.

The Titans are a team that constantly has something to prove and late in the season, they will want to get a top playoff spot in an incredibly improved AFC conference. This game could really go either way and obviously, we will know a lot more about both of these teams by the second-to-last week of the season.

2. Week 13 vs Colts – Sunday Night Football

The Colts will now be led by former Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan and are going to want revenge all year after losing out on the playoffs last year at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars. This midseason matchup will be a test to see how prepared the Cowboys are when a formidable opponent comes to town.

A questionable Cowboys offensive line is going to have its hands full with an incredibly strong Colts defense. Their squad includes defensive masters like Darius Leonard, DeForest Buckner, Yannick, Ngakoue, and Stephon Gilmore.

Thankfully, the Cowboys do have an edge given that their defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was Matt Ryan’s head coach for many years. However, if the Cowboys figure out how to stop Ryan, the Colts can always hand the ball to their star running back Jonathan Taylor who is an absolute monster of a rusher.

This will be a big test for both the Cowboys’ offensive and defensive squads. Winning this game can help prove that Dallas doesn’t just win against NFC East teams.

1. Week 1 vs Buccaneers – Sunday Night Football

They usually say save the best for last, but that’s not the case here. The Cowboys’ Week 1 matchup vs. the Bucs last year was one of the best games they played despite the loss. The team will be looking for serious revenge on their home turf.

Plus, the stakes are high having the primetime spotlight for the first game of the season. Rookies like Tyler Smith and Jalen Tolbert will be put to the test right away against one of the best teams in the league.

If the Cowboys know anything, it’s that they can’t leave Tom Brady with time on the clock at the end of the game. They know what he can do with the football and cannot leave this game up to chance.

Luckily for Dallas, Tampa Bay is likely to be without Chris Godwin, but they still have plenty of other offensive and defensive weapons at their disposal. If America’s Team can start their 2022 season with a huge victory to prove the doubters wrong it will be a huge tone-setter, especially with another tough matchup against Cincinnati the following week.