Cowboys' Strength of Schedule Ranking is Major Hurdle for 2026 Rebound

The Dallas Cowboys' path to a rebound in 2026 won't be an easy.

Dallas hasn't made the playoffs in each of the past two years, and for a franchise with such an illustrious history that also gets a ton of national attention, that's an eternity — and do not even get us started on the Super Bowl drought.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys' schedule won't be doing the team any favors in the quest to get back to the postseason in 2026.

Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis has posted the strength of schedule projections for all 32 teams in the NFL and it is based on projected win totals from Vegas oddsmakers. For the Cowboys, their projected win total comes in at 8.5, Sharp writes.

After calculating everything, Sharp revealed Dallas has the fourth-toughest strength of schedule in the NFL for 2026, with only the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers having tougher slates.

Dallas Cowboys fan during the second half against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Sharp admits there is "no perfect strength of schedule metrics," but this is the better approach to calculate strength of schedule over using the previous season's records because that method does not take into account changes teams make during the offseason.

As far as the rest of the NFC East is concerned, the Eagles have the easiest projected schedule in the division, and the seventh-easiest in the entire league. The Washington Commanders and New York Giants have the eighth- and ninth-toughest slates.

This ranking is a far cry from where the Cowboys were in 2025, when they were projected to have the third-easiest slate.

A lot of good that did for them.

Dallas Cowboys' 2026 opponents

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald talks to fans during the Super Bowl LX trophy presentation. — Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

It has been awhile since we discovered who the Cowboys would play in 2026. In case you forgot, here's a reminder:

Home games: Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders.

Away games: Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Giants, Eagles, Commanders.

We don't have the exact dates and times of these Cowboys games yet because the schedules haven't been released yet. That will come at some point this month.

Dallas Cowboys mascot Rowdy before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at AT&T Stadium. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Seven of the Cowboys' 2026 opponents (Jaguars, 49ers, Eagles, Texans, Rams, Seahawks and Packers) made the playoffs last season.

Of course, the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, and Houston, San Fran and Los Angeles won at least one playoff game. All seven of the playoff squads should be good to elite once again in 2026.

The Colts likely would have made the playoffs if not for the injury to Daniel Jones, and teams like the Titans, Ravens, Buccaneers, Giants and Commanders could all be improved after lackluster showings in 2025.

The good news for the Cowboys is their offense should be elite, and the defense should be better with all the additions the team has made.

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