2025 NFL schedule: Cowboys set for historically difficult stretch in Weeks 12-17

The NFL certainly still views the Dallas Cowboys as “America’s Team.” They gave the Cowboys eight standalone games for the upcoming 2025 season. 

That’s tied for the most in the league in 2025 with the three-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs and the 2024 NFC runner-up Washington Commanders for the most in the upcoming season. Eight standalone games is also tied for the most in any one NFL season for a single team in the 21st Century as the 2025 Cowboys, Chiefs and Commanders are tied with the 2024 Baltimore Ravens, 2024 Chiefs, 2023 Buffalo Bills and 2022 Green Bay Packers for that distinction, per CBS Sports Research. 

While the NFL certainly loves giving Dallas the island game spotlight, that will also be a double-edged sword for the Cowboys in 2025. Dallas will be home against the Philadelphia Eagles (14-3 in 2024), home against the Chiefs (15-2 in 2024), at the Detroit Lions (15-2 in 2024), home against the Minnesota Vikings (14-3), home against the Los Angeles Chargers (11-6 in 2024) and at the Commanders (12-5 in 2024) from Weeks 12-17. 

That makes Dallas’ 2025 squad the first in NFL history to have four consecutive games against teams with 14 or more wins the year prior (Weeks 12-15) and the first in NFL history with six consecutive games against teams with 11 or more wins the year prior (Weeks 12-17), per CBS Sports Research. 

Potentially the sole silver lining about this nearly impossible stretch run is that four of these six games are at the friendly confines of AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys will be looking to bounce back at home in 2025 after going 2-7 at Jerry World in 2024 following a 16-game home winning streak in the regular season. Perhaps simply having better injury luck in 2025 could course correct the Cowboys in this area that was once so dominant for them when they ripped off three consecutive 12-win campaigns from 2021 to 2023.