Dallas Cowboys opponents 2026: Who’s on the schedule, how easy or hard will their schedule be

The Dallas Cowboys’ 2025 campaign was a mixed bag and they ended up missing the playoffs in a year where they never strayed too far away from .500. The season was defined by the shocking Micah Parsons trade right before their Week 1 opener and as a result, the team was hamstrung by a poor defense that routinely gave up 30+ points to opponents. But it wasn’t all bad though.

Dak Prescott achieved 4,000+ passing yards for the fourth time in his career and was helped by both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, who was acquired from the Steelers last offseason and had a breakout year. The newly signed Javonte Williams also had a career campaign on the ground with 1,200+ rushing yards and the team bolstered its front-seven by acquiring All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline. Should the team re-sign both Pickens and Williams in the offseason, then they’ll have a promising roster heading into the 2026 season.

The Cowboys will have nine home games and eight road games next season pending the announcement of the matchups for the 2026 international games and there’s already speculation that they could be tabbed for the Mexico City game. The rotation will include matchups against the entire NFC West and AFC South, along with their usual six divisional games within the NFC East. Since they finished as NFC East runner-up, they will be matched up with the second-place finishers of the NFC North (Packers), NFC South (Bucs), and AFC North (Ravens) to round out the 17-game schedule.

Upon initial glance, Dallas has a tough, but manageable schedule for 2026. Eight matchups against playoff opponents is what’s on the docket for the Cowboys, but that doesn’t account for the likelihood of the Commanders bouncing back with a healthy Jayden Daniels next season. “America’s Team” will have to handle its business at home as it has a difficult road slate on its hands with trips to contenders in Philly, Houston, L.A., Seattle, and Green Bay. Still, an NFC Wild Card spot is definitely in the cards for the Cowboys next year, but they’ll obviously have to improve defensively.