The NFL's 2026 schedule dropped Thursday night, and for the Dallas Cowboys, it's a mixed bag of opportunities and challenges. Expectations are sky-high this season, with many believing that Christian Parker and the revamped defense could be the key to a playoff return. But before you break out the Cowboys gear and start planning your game-day wardrobe, let's take a closer look at the brutal first half that awaits America's Team.
Everyone knows the NFL is a marathon, not a sprint. But how you start can define your entire season. While no team hoists the Lombardi Trophy in Week 1, history tells a sobering story: only 2.4% of teams that start 0-3 (since 1990) have made the playoffs. Even more daunting, just 1.7% of teams that stumble to a 3-6 record end up in the postseason. A slow start isn't impossible to overcome, but it can crush morale, make players tune out their coaches, and turn stadiums into ghost towns—which always gets the owner's attention.
For Brian Schottenheimer's squad, the schedule makers were not kind. In their first nine games, the Cowboys have only three true home games. That's right—only three. The highly anticipated clash with the Ravens will technically be a home game, but it's happening in Rio de Janeiro. That's the first NFL game ever in the Marvelous City, so forget about the usual comforts of AT&T Stadium. It's a neutral-site showdown with no home-field edge.
Of those three remaining true home games, one is against division rival Washington. The Commanders are plenty familiar with traveling to Dallas, so that advantage is diluted. And the second home game? A Thursday Night Football matchup against the Buccaneers, giving the Cowboys just four days to recover from a road trip to Houston. That's a recipe for exhaustion before the season even hits its stride.
For Cowboys fans, this schedule means one thing: early-season grit will be everything. Whether you're stocking up on game-day essentials or just hoping for a fast start, buckle up. This first half is going to test every fiber of this team.