NFL Schedule: How Powerful Cowboys Boss Jerry Jones Won - And Lost
FRISCO - Yes, yes, they always say that when the NFL schedule is released, as it was on Thursday, there is a hopeful beauty to the fact that everybody is 0-0. Nobody's won. Nobody's lost.
Except, that is, Jerry Jones.
Click here for the entire Cowboys schedule and game-by-game look and you can read along with the wins and losses for Dallas Cowboys owner Jones, as muscle-bound a power-broker as there is in the NFL - and in sports.
What did Jones want out of this schedule in terms of anything that might be favorable to the "brand'' and to the team?
First and foremost, he wanted to be the opening act at SoFi Stadium, the glorious new arena in Los Angeles. After all, Jones:
*Helped get the Rams moved back to L.A..
*Is close friends with Rams owner Stan Kroenke.
*Helped get the new stadium built.
*Considers Southern California to be one of the richest areas of Cowboys fans in the world.
Week 1, Dallas is at the Los Angeles Rams, on Sept. 13, in a prime-time Sunday 7:20 p.m. game. The stage could not possibly be more glitzy - or more financially promising.
Oh, and one more thing: Guess which team opens the preseason at SoFi? Yeah, that would be Dallas at the Chargers.
The Cowboys also got their Thanksgiving Game, of course - league opponents are going to have to pry that one out of the Jones family's dead, cold hands - but seven days later comes another game, and it's at Baltimore. And the four-days-earlier game is at Minnesota.
That wasn't very nice of the NFL.
There is another tradition that lives: On Nov. 1, it's Dallas at Philly, marking the 17th consecutive season these two have met in primetime - the longest-running division rivalry in primetime in NFL history.
The league doesn't get its traditional Dallas-vs.-Giants opener, but that's the Week 17 closer. But it is presently scheduled for noon, which accents the big "loss'' for Jerry Jones and the Cowboys: Yes, they'll be a staple on national TV, as always. Five night games, in total.
But the "Monday Night Football'' showcase? The Cowboys get that only once. That's not uncommon, but ... The Saints, Patriots, Bucs and Bills each get it twice as many times ... proving that even when the records are 0-0, not even Jerry Jones can win 'em all.
