At first, it looked like the NFL gave the Dallas Cowboys a serious disadvantage in the early stretch of the season, most of it having to do with their international game in Brazil, and the NFL definitely screwed them for that, but did the league office do that to really reward them later?
The Cowboys are set to play three games in 11 days early in the season, and some of that will be jet lag from their time in Rio de Janeiro. But Cowboys beat writer Joseph Hoyt and the research folks over at The Dallas Morning News say that, aside from that early-season disadvantage, they only have one rest disadvantage during the 2026 season. In total, they have one of the best net-rest advantages in the league.
"Despite how the Cowboys' schedule looks on the surface, it appears the scheduling wizards at the NFL did give the Cowboys a subtle advantage in their 2026 slate," Hoyt said. "The Cowboys will have 14 extra days of rest compared to their opponents this season."
The NFL quietly gave the Cowboys a rest advantage in the 2026 season
Hoyt adds that the one rest disadvantage the Cowboys have is against the Arizona Cardinals, who aren't expected to do much celebrating this season. The time of rest is comparing the Cowboys' opponents to one another, and that's the important factor here.
According to Arif Hasan on X, the Cowboys have the third-best rest advantage in the entire league, right behind the Buffalo Bills and the Chicago Bears. It's probably not something Joe Buck knew beforehand, but his Super Bowl prediction between the Cowboys and Bills is making sense after all.
At least for this season, the schedule looks less dramatic than last season. Of course, the Cowboys were fighting for their playoff lives between before Thanksgiving and after, when they were faced with a gauntlet against the Eagles, Chiefs and Lions. The Cowboys eventually lost to the Lions, but to be fair, they weren't given much rest at that time, and their backs were already against the wall.
The Cowboys actually may end up with a friendly end-of-season schedule, as they end the same way they kick off. America's Team will start with the Giants and Commanders in Weeks 1 and 2, and it ends the same way for Weeks 17 and 18.
If the Cowboys need help in their (hopefully) playoff chase, they have their division rivals, or little brothers, as some fans would say, to look forward to at the end of the season. The record shows the Cowboys have dominated both teams over the decade, so fans can only hope that trend continues.
The schedule may look awful on paper from Weeks 3 to 5, but in the end, the NFL wizards really helped out the Cowboys against their opponents this season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google