The Dallas Cowboys kick the season off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here’s a look at that game as well as the following 16 including a prediction for each contest.
It seems as though everything the NFL does anymore is an event.
From free agency to the draft to the schedule release — it’s all a big show. And on Wednesday, May 12, the NFL had its most recent event as they officially released their schedule which included the Dallas Cowboys starting the season off against the defending NFL champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That won’t be their only prime time game, however, as they ended up with five prime time games as well as their annual Turkey day game.
Now, let’s dive into the schedule and predict how all 17 games will unfold for the Dallas Cowboys, starting with their matchup with the Bucs.
Week 1: Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Thursday Night Football)
Dak Prescott will make his return with all eyes on him as he and the Cowboys will travel to Raymond James Stadium to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This game will be played on Sept. 9 and will be the first game of the 2021 season, meaning Dallas will have to watch as Tom Brady and company get their rings.
Speaking of Brady, he has never lost to the Cowboys, and now, they have to face him and all his returning starters against a revamped defense with a new coordinator. This simply isn’t the game Dan Quinn wants to get his feet wet against.
Look for Prescott to play well but for the defense to continue to be a problem for them. Dallas drops another season opener to begin 0-1.
Prediction: Tampa Bay 37, Dallas 24
Week 2: Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Chargers
This one could be tough since the Los Angeles Chargers are an up-and-coming team in the NFL — and Justin Herbert is going to be an issue for them. He’s going to get his yards and again, this defense will struggle.
However, the offense will be rounding into form and look for Prescott to hit one of his key receivers on a deep touchdown late in the game to secure a narrow win.
Prediction: Dallas 31, Los Angeles 28
Week 3: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys (Monday Night Football)
Philly is trending in the wrong direction. DeVonta Smith will help them a lot but Jalen Hurts still has to prove he’s the guy. Dallas just has to hope that they don’t mistake beating a struggling team with their defense being good just yet.
Prediction: Dallas 33, Philadelphia 16
September Record: 2-1 | Overall Record: 2-1
Week 4: Carolina Panthers at Dallas Cowboys
Matt Rhule has yet to prove he belongs in the NFL and recent comments from Teddy Bridgewater bring that even more into question. Still, they fight hard on gameday and that makes this a closer contest than it should be.
In the end, Dallas pulls off a nail-biter and sends the Panthers home with a loss.
Prediction: Dallas 27, Carolina 20
Week 5: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys
This won’t sit well with die-hard fans but the Cowboys are due for a dud against the Giants. And New York has had a really good offseason.
Look for Jason Garrett to call a great game since this is his Super Bowl and Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense have always struggled with the G-Men.
Prediction: New York 28, Dallas 17
Week 6: Dallas Cowboys at New England Patriots
Finally, the Dallas Cowboys knock off the New England Patriots. All it took was for Tom Brady to leave — but of course, they already lost to him in this prediction.
New England has made a lot of interesting additions but they still don’t have a quarterback to truly believe in. Cam Newton isn’t a great fit in their offense and Mac Jones has to prove he can get it done.
Prediction: Dallas 26, New England 20
Week 7: Bye
Week 7 isn’t a bad time at all for a bye, and it allowed the Cowboys an extra week to prepare for Minnesota.
Week 8: Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings (Sunday Night Football)
Dallas upset Minnesota last season and now, the Vikings return the favor with a win in front of their home crowd.
Prediction: Minnesota 31, Dallas 27
October Record: 2-2 | Overall Record: 4-3
Week 9: Denver Broncos at Dallas Cowboys
There used to be a time with the Cowboys were hot in September and then faded out. Now, they seem to get better as the season goes on. Denver isn’t exactly a fierce team (unless they get Aaron Rodgers) but Dallas still makes a statement with a win here. And with a great defensive effort. Finally.
Prediction: Dallas 33, Denver 9
Week 10: Atlanta Falcons at Dallas Cowboys
One of the more exciting wins of the season came against the Atlanta Falcons last year as Dallas had a remarkable comeback. Now, the former coach of the Falcons will face his old team.
Again, this game will feature a ton of fireworks without much defense. The deciding factor — Dallas is at home. Cowboys escape with a close win.
Prediction: Dallas 37, Atlanta 30
Week 11: Dallas Cowboys at Kansas City Chiefs
There’s no nice way to put this — Kansas City is far too much for the Cowboys to deal with. Patrick Mahomes ability to carve up subpar defenses is insane. And for some reason, the Dallas offense seems to struggle with a team such as the Chiefs even if their D isn’t great. Not sure what that’s about, but this one — especially being in Kansas City — has ugly written all over it.
Prediction: Kansas City 41, Dallas 17
Week 12: Las Vegas Raiders at Dallas Cowboys (Thanksgiving Day)
Thanksgiving brings us Dallas vs. Las Vegas and thankfully, this will be a much better game for them than the week prior. Dallas finally scores a win on Thanksgiving Day, making their fans happy. And sending them into December with a respectable record of 7-4.
Prediction: Dallas 24, Las Vegas 17
November Record: 3-1 | Overall Record: 7-4
Week 13: Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints (Thursday Night Football)
We don’t know if it will be Taysom Hill or Jameis Winston that starts for the New Orleans Saints, but we know that just because Drew Brees retired, doesn’t mean this team will be an easy out. Dallas lost to the Saints with Teddy Bridgewater under center a couple of seasons ago and they need to come out prepared.
Expect them to do that as they’re still trying to get back on track after that beating a couple of weeks ago from the Chiefs.
Prediction: Dallas 31, New Orleans 22
Week 14: Dallas Cowboys at Washington Football Team
Another team that Dallas lays a dud against on nearly an annual basis is the Washington Football Team. Throw Ryan Fitzpatrick into the mix and they’re just not going to have any fun on this afternoon.
Prediction: Washington 20, Dallas 16
Week 15: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants
After losing to Washington, the Cowboys get a chance to enact some revenge on the New York Football Giants. It’s a close one at Met Life in the cold conditions but look for Dak Prescott to make a few key plays with his legs to set up a late game-winning field goal. Giants fans are going to really start to hate Greg Zuerlein.
Prediction: Dallas 21, New York 20
Week 16: Washington Football Team at Dallas Cowboys (Sunday Night Football)
Revenge so nice, they served it up twice. Or at least two games in a row.
A rematch just two weeks after losing in Washington D.C., the Cowboys get back at the team with no name. Playing at home, they’re much more relaxed and the weather isn’t a factor. That plays to their favor as the Dallas wideouts have a field day in this lopsided win.
Prediction: Dallas 33, Washington 20
December Record: 3-1 | Overall Record: 10-5
Week 17: Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys
In 2020, the Dallas Cowboys had a tough primetime game against the Arizona Cardinals. They had no answers for Kyler Murray’s legs and even though he had a terrible passing percentage, he did enough damage running — and hit some deep passes — to make life miserable for the Dallas defense.
With them in the NFC East race this season (according to this prediction) they need this win and they come out ready to make a statement. They do exactly that with one of their biggest wins of the season. Now at 11-5, they have one more game to play thanks to the new 17-game schedule.
Prediction: Dallas 37, Arizona 21
Week 18: Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
The Dallas Cowboys close their season out on the road and against a familiar foe in the Philadelphia Eagles. They made it look easy earlier in the year but the Eagles should be much better by this point. And there’s no way Dallas blows them out of the building twice in the same year.
That’s not to say they can’t score a win over them and secure the sweep. In a hard-fought NFC East showdown, Dallas steals a road win and this prediction is going to be a little crazy in saying they do so on the strength of a huge defensive stand.
Prediction: Dallas 23, Philadelphia 20
January Record: 2-0 | Overall Record: 12-5