With their 8-8 overall finish and 2-4 record within the division, the Dallas Cowboys have the outline to both their 2012 off-season and opponent structure set.
Due to NFL Draft tiebreaker rules, the Cowboys will draft 14th overall in the first round. There were seven teams that ended up with similar 8-8 records, and they will rotate through the seven rounds. In the first round, Arizona gets the upper hand selecting 13th. Dallas will have the 13th pick in the second round, then cycle down to the 18th pick in Round Three.
Tiebreakers
• Strength of schedule for the previous season is the first tie-breaker for teams with the same winning percentage. The team with the lowest strength of schedule percentage wins the tiebreaker and picks ahead of all other teams with the same record.
• Divisional and conference records are the next step in the tie-breaking procedure.
• As a last resort, a coin toss is used to determine the order of selection for teams with the same winning percentage.
As for the 2012 schedule, Dallas finished third in the NFC East, behind the Philadelphia Eagles. The NFC East will face off against the AFC North and the NFC South in 2012. In addition to the requisite six games against their division rivals, Dallas will face the third-place teams in the NFC North and NFC West.
Follow the jump for the 2012 schedule home and away breakdowns.
2012 Dallas Cowboys Opponents
Home and Home
Washington(x2), Philadelphia(x2), NY Giants(x2),
Home Opponents:
Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears
Road Opponents:
Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks