Every season, a team's bye week is a welcome chance for physical rest, healing, and strategic changes. The struggling Dallas Cowboys could use plenty of that last benefit right now, but their 2026 bye is unusually late, set for Week 14.
This will almost certainly limit its value in a season where nothing seems to be going Dallas' way.
When we say this year's bye week is "unusually late," that barely does it justice. Over the last 35 seasons, the Cowboys' bye week hasn't come any later than Week 11 (most recently in 2014). In fact, you have to go all the way back to 1990 for the last time it was Week 14.
Late bye weeks can be good, but not for the 2026 Cowboys
A late bye week isn't necessarily a negative. For teams trying to secure playoff spots or improve seeding, it can be a huge benefit right before the final four games of the regular season.
Sadly, the current Cowboys don't look anything like playoff contenders. At 4-5 and only beating some of the worst teams in the league, Dallas doesn't even seem capable of catching the Giants in the NFC East, let alone making strides in the Wild Card race.
Of course, teams can make tweaks through the season. But it's so much harder to make significant changes between games, as your focus immediately shifts from the last opponent to the next one. The coaching becomes specific to stopping what that team does well or exploiting the things they don't.
This could be especially useful on defense, where rookie defensive coordinator Christian Parker has had the most problems this year. Dallas could clean up plenty of things on offense and special teams as well, but the defense has been truly broken for most of the year. An extra week for Parker and advisor Mike Pettine to dig into the defensive issues would be mostly welcome.
The Cowboys' late bye week could be especially bad for Brian Schottenheimer
The bye week is often when you see more large-scale changes, such as new starters or schematic alterations. It's also been a time when teams will make coaching changes, depending on how the season is going.
Jerry Jones seems content to let Brian Schottenheimer see this season through. But let's say that we get to Week 14 and the Cowboys are clearly out of any division or wild card races. If there's nothing else to lose, could that be the time Jerry finally cuts Schotty loose?
With four games still to play, the front office could see that as a nice audition opportunity for offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, or someone else they'd consider to be head coach in 2027. Granted, it would be a limited pool as they couldn't touch anyone from other NFL teams.
Keep these dates in the back of your mind: the Cowboys' bye week comes after their Week 13 games against the Seahawks on December 7. The Oklahoma Sooners, where Jason Witten is now offensive coordinator, end their regular season on November 28th.
I'm just saying.
Of course, by mid-December, th e front office may just want to focus on the offseason and let Schottenheimer tread water as a lame duck. But the way this season's going, Dallas' Week 14 bye may not offer much other value than a coaching change.
Will they want to twiddle their thumbs for two weeks, or will frustration prompt some kind of activity?
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