Hey, it’s already 2018! It’s a new season for the Dallas Cowboys. Okay, the 2018 season is really seven months or so away, but it’s never too early to look at the schedule. We don’t know the dates yet, but we know the opponents and whether the Cowboys will play them at home or away. Let’s take a quick look.
Home: New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans
Away: New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks
We already knew the NFC East. Same thing every year.
In 2018, the Cowboys play the NFC and AFC South. The NFC South at this moment looks like a tough go, they were in the argument for the best division in football in 2017 with three teams making the playoffs. Dallas will have to go on the road and take on Carolina and Atlanta, while hosting New Orleans. By the time those games come along in the 2018 season, those teams may not be as good as we think (or perhaps even better).
To balance that out, Dallas gets the AFC South, which has teams like Indianapolis and Houston who struggled mightily this year. But they also produced two playoff teams in Jacksonville and Tennessee.
Then there are the two wildcards, the teams that match up with Dallas because they finished second in their division like the Cowboys. Those two teams are Seattle and Detroit, who finished 9-7 just like the Cowboys.
Dallas play six teams that made the playoff in 2017. The winning percentage for the Cowboys’ 2018 opponents this past season was a very even 50.4%.
The Cowboys face a tougher schedule at home than they do on the road, which is probably how you want it. The away opponents "only" combine for a 61-67 record (.477 strength of schedule) while the home opponents combine for a 67-61 record (.523 strength of schedule).