The NFL schedule is official as we now know what teams the Dallas Cowboys will be playing during each week of the 2021 season. Today, I'm going to go through every single week and attempt to predict the outcome of each game. I realize this can be a futile exercise at this point in the year as there are so many downstream variables that have yet to reveal themselves, but let's give it a shot just to get a feel for what the Cowboys could be up against this year.
WEEK 1: On the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Thursday night on NBC)
The Cowboys get tested early as they draw the reigning Super Bowl champs right out of the gate. All eyes will be on the return of Dak Prescott, but it will be another quarterback who will be making the most noise. The Cowboys have never beaten Tom Brady, and I don't see it changing. With a possible timid Prescott and a veteran quarterback dissecting a new defense that has a lot to learn, things might not start off on the right foot for the boys in silver and blue.
It's an unfortunate opending day draw for the Cowboys as their defense is just not ready. Dak tries to do too much in his return and turns the ball over twice. Let the 40 million dollar quarterback memes begin. Buccaneers win, 37-20. Cowboys start the season 0-1.
WEEK 2: On the road against the Los Angeles Chargers (late game on CBS)
Cowboys fans wanting to see rookie Rashawn Slater in action are likely to get their chance as he'll be blocking for last year's AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, Justin Herbert. While Herbert did not play in Week 1 of last year, he still put on quite a show, setting a rookie record for most touchdowns (31). For the second year in a row, the Cowboys get to play in the beautiful SoFi Stadium.
The league learns that Herbert is the real deal, and Cowboys fans learn that their defense struggles haven't gone away. Chargers win a close one, 28-27, Dallas starts the year at 0-2.
WEEK 3: At home against the Philadelphia Eagles (Monday night on ESPN)
After taking turns winning the NFC East for four-straight years, the Cowboys and Eagles fell to the bottom half of the division in 2020. Both teams are hoping to start the season fresh with a healthy capable quarterback. While Jalen Hurts is the wild card to the Eagles season, it's hard to know how he'll do in year two. He only made four starts last season with mixed results. He'll have better talent around him this year and he will make plays, but I'm going with the Cowboys proven talent at quarterback to lead his team to victory under the Monday night lights.
Leave it to the Eagles to get the Cowboys in the win column for the first time this year. Cowboys win 24-20, going 1-2 on the year.
WEEK 4: At home against the Carolina Panthers (early game on FOX)
There are a lot of great matchup storylines in this one as we'll see two of the top running backs square off in Ezekiel Elliott vs. Christian McCaffrey. And former draft target Jaycee Horn will be covering one of the Cowboys talented receivers. But the one with the most influence on the game will be new Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold. And while Darnold has been less than impressive up to this point in his career, you don't have to remind Cowboys fans of what he's capable of.
Not-so-fun fact: That 92-yard touchdown strike was to Robbie Anderson, who now plays for the Panthers.
In an ugly one, head coach Mike McCarthy makes all the wrong moves. Cowboys lose, 19-17, and start with a very unsettling record of 1-3.
WEEK 5: At home against the New York Giants (late game on FOX)
The Giants upgraded their wide receiver group over the offseason by adding free agent Kenny Golladay and first-round draft pick Kadarius Toney. Add that to a healthy return of star running back Saquon Barkley, and suddenly the Giants offense looks a lot more capable than the group that finished second-worst in the league in yards gained and points scored a year ago. Unfortunately for the G-Men, they still have Daniel Jones at quarterback, and unless he shows some strides in year three, the Giants will not be able to capitilize on the new talent they have on offense.
The Giants are noticeably better, but Prescott delivers his first big game of the season almost a year to the day when he suffered his gruesome season-ending injury. Cowboys win 41-31, move to 2-3 on the year.
WEEK 6: On the road against the New England Patriots (late game on CBS)
It's been 25 years since the Cowboys have beaten the Patriots as they have lost six-straight contests against them. Despite that run, the Cowboys lead the series 7-6 thanks to their own 25-year run of seven-straight victories from 1971-1996. Will Dallas be able to right the ship now that Brady has left town? Last year, New England finished with a losing record for the first time since 2000, so they have some work to do, but they always seem to have the Cowboys number.
Bill Belichick is far superior to McCarthy and he knows how to exploit every aspect to his advantage. Pats win 21-19 in a game that comes down to the wire. Panic creeps in as the Cowboys start the year 2-4.
WEEK 7: BYE
WEEK 8: On the road against the Minnesota Vikings (Sunday night on NBC)
Coming off a bye last year, the Cowboys surprised many people with a late game comeback to give them a 31-28 win over the Vikings. It ended a four-game losing streak. There was no shortage of excitment in that one. The Cowboys show up with something to prove on this Sunday night game in what should be a game with a lot of points scored.
The battle of last year's top rookie wide receivers continue as CeeDee Lamb and Justin Jefferson put on a show. The Dallas offense is too much. Cowboys win 31-24, and go to 3-4 on the year.
WEEK 9: At home against the Denver Broncos (early game on FOX)
The Cowboys have had to wait four years to get that terrible taste out of their mouth after the Broncos crushed them 42-17 in Week 2 back in 2017. Fortunately, there will be no C.J. Anderson to run wild on the Cowboys defense. Instead, this game will feature a battle of former Alabama stars. On one side of the ball pits Amari Cooper against rookie Patrick Surtain II, and on the other side is Jerry Jeudy against Trevon Diggs.
Whether it's Drew Lock or Teddy Bridgewater, the Cowboys have a huge advantage at the quarterback position. Cowboys win 27-13, even up at 4-4 for the year.
WEEK 10: At home against the Atlanta Falcons (early game on FOX)
Kyle Pitts, Julio Jones, and Calvin Ridley vs. Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup. In what is assured to be an offensive explosion (these teams combined for 79 total points last year), look for Cowboys new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to assert himself against the team that fired him a year ago. This is the point in the season, where we start realizing if the Cowboys new plan on defense is actually working.
The Cowboys win in a shootout, 38-34 capping off a three-game winning streak to go 5-4 and give them a winning record for the first time this season.
WEEK 11: On the road against the Kansas City Chiefs (late game on FOX)
The Cowboys beat the Chiefs 28-17 the last time these teams squared off, and have won three of their last four, including that exciting Miles Austin OT game back in 2009. Alex Smith was the Chiefs quarterback when they last met, so this will be the first time the Cowboys face $450,000,000 quarterback Patrick Mahomes. It will be the first time in NFL history that two $40+ million quarterbacks will go up against each other.
The Cowboys make this interesting, but their defense just can't make stops against "Showtime" Mahomes. Chiefs win, 35-31. Cowboys back at .500 at 5-5.
WEEK 12: At home against the Las Vegas Raiders (late Thanksgiving game on FOX)
The last time the Raiders beat the Cowboys, Drew Bledsoe was throwing passes to Keyshawn Johnson. The Cowboys are riding a three-game win streak against the silver and black, including a Sunday night victory in 2017 where former Cowboys/former Raiders safety Jeff Heath saved the day. One might have thought that Jerry Jones would've pulled some strings to play at the Raiders new Allegiant Stadium (who didn't allow fans last year), but even Jerry don't have that kind of pull.
The Raiders offense have some nice matchups they can exploit with speedster Henry Ruggs and tight end extraordinaire Darren Waller, but their defense has too many holes. Cowboys prevail, 27-17, and sit with a record of 6-5.
WEEK 13: On the road against the New Orleans Saints (Thursday night on FOX)
The Saints' Brees-less era begins which brings with it a lot of uncertainty. The Saints had the 31st ranked offense in points scored back in 2005, the last season before Brees took over at quarterback. They finished in the top five in points scored the following year with Brees and haven't looked back, finishing top 12 or better in each of the last 15 seasons. That includes five-straight top five finishes. The Saints still have Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas to go with a very stout defense (top five in points allowed last season), so this one is going to be a tough one for Dallas.
The Cowboys defense for some reason always seem to show up against the Saints and they do it again in what is their best performance of the year. Cowboys win, 20-16, move up to 7-5.
WEEK 14: On the road against the Washington Football Team (early game on FOX)
In what could end up having division title implications, the Cowboys finally meet up with Washington. It's easy to dismiss this team as a fluke as their 7-9 division title and one-and-done playoff experience didn't wow anyone, but don't sell them short. After starting the year 1-5 last season, WFT won five of their last seven games. They did this despite having four different quarterbacks, and none of them were very good. Their two main starters, Alex Smith and Dwayne Haskins, had more interceptions than they did touchdowns. But make no mistake about it, Washington's strength is their defense, and to mitigate their QB issues, they signed veteran free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick.
On paper, this one should be a good game, but the Cowboys get sloppy and turn the ball over too much. Football Team wins convincingly, 31-17, drop to 7-6.
WEEK 15: On the road against the New York Giants (early game on FOX)
At this point in the season, the Giants organization could be going through some stuff. Second-year head coach Joe Judge will be in the hot seat, and the team could find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place at quarterback. If the Giants end up going nowhere fast and the season feels lost, would they start thinking ahead and position themselves in a good draft spot for a new quarterback?
Whatever they're going through, I don't see them mustering up the ability to beat a Cowboys team fighting for a playoff berth. Cowboys win, 24-14, to complete the sweep and sit with a 8-6 record.
WEEK 16: At home against the Washington Football Team (Sunday night on NBC)
The Cowboys square off against Washington for the second time in three weeks, but this time the Cowboys are ready for them. The offense rolls and WFT is forced to keep up. With the Dallas defense still susceptible at times, Washington is actually able to hang with them in what ends up being a back-and-forth shootout. In the end, it's the Cowboys that have the last say.
Prescott, who should be much more cautious running this season, uses his legs to find the end zone late in the game. Cowboys win a wild one, 35-31, and advance to 9-6 on the year.
WEEK 17: At home against the Arizona Cardinals (early game on FOX)
After losing Prescott for the season, a deflated Cowboys team hosted the Cardinals in a Monday night game of Week 6 last season. Dallas suffered it's biggest loss of the year as Arizona humiliated them 38-10. Kliff Kingsbury runs an explosive offense, led by the wily Kyle Murray, but the Cowboys emphasis on speed will pay off in this one. They'll have no answer for star receiver DeAndre Hopkins as he'll have a huge game, but in the end Prescott will light up the box score.
They won't return the favor in dominating fashion, but it will be good enough to get the job done. Cowboys win, 27-21, and take the divison lead at 10-6.
WEEK 18: On the road against the Philadelphia (early game on FOX)
The only thing standing in the way of a division title is the regular season finale in the city of brotherly love. The Cowboys will be playing their best football and coming off three-straight wins. All signs point to keeping a good thing going, but the Eagles will have different plans. Some communication mix ups and a little misdirection catches the Cowboys defense sleeping. And don't be surprised if this one ends in controversy.
Sometimes the Cowboys can't seem to get out of their own way. Eagles win 17-12. Cowboys finish the regular season with a 10-7 record.
A 10-7 record is what I have the Cowboys finishing the year at. Will that be good enough to take down the NFC East? Earn a wild card spot? How many wins do you think the Cowboys will have this season? Hit me up on Twitter and let me know your prediction.