Best Dallas Cowboys away matchups in 2021

We are all hoping to see the Dallas Cowboys prosper in 2021. That goes without saying.

It has been a while since this team had any level of sustained success and the goal is that it all starts — and holds — as soon as possible. For that to happen, the Cowboys will have to win a bunch of games this year and thankfully that doesn’t appear to be all too impossible given the fact that they will play six contests against an NFC East group that was abysmal in 2020.

Dallas will play a number of other games though, specifically they will play some interesting games on the road. The league instituted a 17th game beginning in 2021 and has all NFC teams playing one extra contest away from home meaning that the Cowboys will play nine games away from AT&T Stadium.

What are the best games that the Cowboys will play on the road? I’ve personally gone to a handful of away games over the last couple of years and always look for the best ones.

Here is our recommendation on the top four road games to attend in 2021.

Week 2: Los Angeles Chargers

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Many around the NFL are expecting the Chargers to finally take a serious step forward in 2021. This game will be an interesting one for the Cowboys as they will have a mini bye to properly rest and prepare for coming off of last week’s Thursday night game at Tampa against the Buccaneers. These first two games of the year are going to be a bit difficult for Dallas to say the least.

This game will mark the first that the Cowboys will be playing in SoFi Stadium Los Angeles — which is home Super Bowl LVI next year — with fans in attendance. Dallas opened their season on the road at SoFi against the LA Rams in Week 1 of last year in what was a 17-20 loss (Jalen Ramsey definitely interfered with Michael Gallup, by the way) and they generally have a strong fan presence in California thanks to hosting training camp in Oxnard every summer ... plus it’s not like the Chargers are known for having a strong fan base. You are likely going to be surrounded by fellow Cowboys fans here and it may feel like a home game. Also, this will be your first opportunity to see how the shiny new 3 million square foot-plus stadium and its famous Oculus video display board compare to AT&T.

Week 8: Minnesota Vikings

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In looking at road games to travel to, you always have to consider the time of year that the game is taking place. Dallas visits the Minnesota Vikings on Halloween, which marks just about the last bit of tolerable weather in the Great North before winter sets in.

There are a few things that seem advantageous about this particular game. First of all, you are likely going to see tons of fans in costumes, which is always fun! But also it is worth mentioning that this game is on Sunday Night Football. Attending games that the entire NFL world (and beyond) is watching on NBC primetime always brings with it an air of epicness to it.

Having hosted the Eagles and the Patriots in Super Bowl LII, U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis is a pretty damn nice stadium to visit, too, and was designed by architecture firm HKS, Inc. — who also dreamed up AT&T Stadium, so some aspects may seem familiar. It is fully enclosed in case the weather gods aren’t on your side, and has a translucent roof and large wall panels so you get a great view of the city. U.S. Bank Stadium is also connected to the Minneapolis Skyway System, an interlinked collection of enclosed pedestrian footbridges that connect various buildings covering 80 city blocks over 9.5 miles, so you can easily walk to/from the game to a bar or your hotel and barely have to go outside.

At the end of the day, if you are going to go through the trouble of traveling for an NFL game you want to see your team win. This seems like a solid opportunity for the Cowboys to pick up a nice victory, they will be coming off of their bye (so will Minnesota by the way), while you make a memory.

Week 11: Kansas City Chiefs

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Since 2014, my family and I have traveled to seven different Dallas Cowboys road games. My favorite ones have always been the AFC teams that we have gone to see (Pittsburgh in 2016, Oakland in 2017, Indianapolis in 2018, and New England in 2019).

This is true for me because I like going places that the Dallas Cowboys don’t often visit. Times are a bit different with the 17th game and the opportunities it will bring for NFC and AFC teams to meet up more often than since realignment in 2002, but generally speaking the Cowboys don’t make it out to Arrowhead Stadium all too often.

The Chiefs are one of the league’s best teams and play in one of the game’s more iconic venues. This game also takes place the Sunday before Thanksgiving, a prime part of the year for football in the air.

Week 15: New York Giants

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It wouldn’t have felt right not to include any NFC East road trips here and New York seems like the best pick to me in 2021 specifically.

Dallas visits the Giants in Week 15, on Dec. 19. I’ve never personally been to New York around Christmas time, but I imagine that it is magical with all of the decorations and lights everywhere. Let’s be honest here we know that the Cowboys should easily defeat the Giants so looking to get the most out of your trip from a tourist standpoint isn’t a bad utilization of your time and energy.

What’s more is that with this game so much later in the year the stakes will be high for every team meaning that you are likely to see a more competitive contest than usual. Dallas has a bit of avenging to do in this stadium seeing as they lost an “important” game there in the regular season finale last year.

If you manage to hit Broadway or something like that in your spare time then it truly is a win-win.