Cowboys 2023 schedule: 3 exciting matchups Dallas could open up with in Week 1

The 2023 NFL schedule is officially set to be releases on Thursday, May 11. It's an exciting time for NFL fans to check who their favorite team plays in Week 1 and what primetime games they have.

Due to the team's rating draw, the Cowboys will likely draw the maximum number of primetime game slots in 2023. Last season, Dallas had five primetime games against the Buccaneers, Giants, Eagles Colts, and Titans. They also played on Thanksgiving, which doesn't count as a primetime slot.

The Cowboys have known their opponents since the end of last season and it's a tough schedule. They will enter the season with their opponents going 156-128-4 (.549) last year, which is tied for the fourth hardest schedule.

They'll have nine games against playoff teams -- the Eagles twice, Giants twice, Seahawks, Dolphins, 49ers, Bills, Chargers -- and two more games against teams with much-improved rosters in the Jets and Lions.

Dallas will probably open up the season against one of those 11 teams in Week 1 in a possible primetime game on Sunday or Monday night. They've played a primetime game during the first week of the season in three straight years.

In 2020, they opened against the Rams on Sunday Night Football. In 2021, they opened against the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers on Thursday night to kick off the season. In 2022, they opened against the Buccaneers again, but this time on Sunday Night Football.

The Cowboys lost all three of those Week 1 primetime games, so hopefully, Dallas can get off to a better start in the win column this year.

3 most exciting and possible Week 1 matchups for the Cowboys

3. New York Giants

There was a span from 2015-2019 where the Cowboys were almost guaranteed to play the Giants in Week 1. They opened the season against them in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019.

Since then, these two teams haven't opened the season facing one another. But that could change this year due to the Giants' upgraded roster.

For starters, the Giants are a much better team than they were a couple of seasons ago. With Daniel Jones showing improvements as a quarterback and coach Brian Daboll leading the team to the playoffs in his first year, it could be an interesting Week 1 matchup for the Cowboys.

The Cowboys and Giants both won their Wild Card Round matchups last season, but eventually lost in the Divisional Round. These teams are division rivals with long storied histories looking to get back to winning Super Bowl championships.

These two teams played a Monday night game and on Thanksgiving last year. The Thanksgiving game drew 42 million viewers, making it the most-watched regular season game ever. The Monday night game drew 19.3 million viewers, making it the fourth most-watched Monday night game in ESPN history.

The Cowboys and Giants bring the ratings and the NFL would probably love to match these two teams up in Week 1. And with the fact that the Giants were a playoff team a year ago, this game should be a competitive one as well.