Dallas Cowboys 2019 schedule: Ranking the 5 toughest games

(Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
(Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 25: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on September 25, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 25: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on September 25, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Week 12 at New England Patriots

There was serious contemplation about putting this game as the fifth-toughest as opposed to fourth, but the fact that the Dallas Cowboys will have to go on the road to Foxborough as the cold starts to creep in around Week 12 put it over the matchup with the Rams.

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Despite Tom Brady’s age, Rob Gronkowski retiring (for now) and holes on the defense, the Patriots remain the ultimate “don’t bet against them until they actually fall off” team. Brady and head coach Bill Belichick are masterminds at this point with

world

NFL domination as their primary focus. Heck, they are the defending Super Bowl champions for a reason.

This matchup in Week 12 will be a tremendous litmus test for the Cowboys, assuming things are going well. As Dallas begins a brutal schedule down the stretch, how they fare against an elite AFC opponent could ultimately set the tone for their final run in the regular season and, in turn, affect their playoff positioning.

Week 14 at Chicago Bears

If the 2018 Bears were any indication, a matchup between Chicago and Dallas is likely going to be a defensive slugfest. That’s the identity that both teams established last year and almost surely will maintain entering the 2019 campaign. More importantly, though, both the Bears and Cowboys had immense success with that formula last season and, if that carries into the 2019 season as well, a Week 14 matchup between the two could be crucial for playoff positioning.

Any game against a Khalil Mack-led Bears defense is not going to be an easy task, and that’s even more so the case if head coach Matt Nagy can pull more out of Mitchell Trubisky and the offense in his second season at the helm of the team. Putting the Cowboys against that type of team on the road at a likely frigid Soldier Field makes for an extremely tall task being put before Dallas.