Could this be the year that the Dallas Cowboys rewrite their own history? They haven't made the NFC Championship Game in 30 years, which became the longest drought in the conference after the rival Washington Commanders broke through two years ago.
Unfortunately, that will be easier said than done, as the NFL handed Dallas a brutal schedule. While the second half is softer than the first, that isn't saying much. They'll play three games in 11 days from Weeks 3-5, starting with a 10-hour trip to Brazil to face the Baltimore Ravens.
You'd think the league would throw Dallas a bone with an earlier bye week after all the travel they're doing in September and October. Nope. They won't get their break until Week 14, marking their latest bye week in 36 years, dating all the way back to 1990, per Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Dak Prescott wasn't even born yet. The 1990s dynasty hadn't even started. Troy Aikman was only a second-year player. You get the point.
The Dallas Cowboys have their latest bye week in 36 years this season
That's not the kind of history any team wants to make.
We're struggling to see the logic in having a bye that late in the season. Having to play out of the country is one thing, but the Cowboys have to turn around and play on the road in Week 4. Sure, it's only in Houston, but it still means uprooting in the middle of the week with no real recovery cushion.
It doesn't get any easier from there, as Dallas will get right back on the horse on Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before heading back on the road for consecutive primetime matchups in Green Bay (Sunday night) and Philadelphia (Monday night).
A Week 8 bye was staring the NFL in the face, but instead, Dallas will be back home on a short week to face the Arizona Cardinals.
While Dallas will get 10 days between Weeks 5 and 6 and again between Weeks 12 and 13, that hardly makes up for not having a bye until mid-December. The Cardinals are the only other team with a Week 14 bye, while four teams are off in Week 13. Meanwhile, six teams have byes in Week 11 and just two in Week 9. Was there even a method to the madness?
The schedule release is all about poking holes and finding hidden advantages. Cowboys fans won't know the slate's true difficulty until the games are played, but it's impossible to overstate the absurdity of a Week 14 bye.
At that point, why even bother? Just run the table.
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