FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys‘ “selectively aggressive” 2025 offseason felt like a step in the right direction, but more steps were rightly required after a free agency haul highlighted by mostly bargain bin shopping and betting on abandoned former first-round picks.
After a 2025 NFL Draft in which they assembled one of the league’s better classes by sticking to their draft board — especially on the draft’s first two nights — and the subsequent trade addition of electrifying wide receiver George Pickens, the Cowboys offseason is now a legitimate hit.
| Round | Pick | Player | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No. 12 | Tyler Booker, IOL, Alabama | B- |
| 2 | No. 44 | Donovan Ezeiruaku, EDGE, Boston College | A- |
| 3 | No. 76 | Shavon Revel Jr., CB, East Carolina | A+ |
| 5 | No. 149 | Jaydon Blue, RB, Texas | C+ |
| 5 | No. 152 | Shemar James, LB, Florida | B |
| 6 | No. 204 (from Bills) | Ajani Cornelius, OT, Oregon | B- |
| 7 | No. 217 (from Patriots) | Jay Toia, DT, UCLA | B |
| 7 | No. 239 (from Titans) | Phil Mafah, RB, Clemson | B |
| 7 | No. 247 (from Panthers) | Tommy Akingbesote, DT, Maryland | C |
Now, it’s time to evaluate how all their moving and shaking will affect the on-field results with the NFL announcing its 2025 regular-season schedule for all 32 teams on Wednesday night.
Pickens’ field-stretching ability could even take a bigger leap lined up next to Cowboys star wideout CeeDee Lamb: Pickens averaged 16.7 yards per reception across the last two seasons, a figure that leads the entire NFL among 61 players with at least 110 catches since 2023. His 12 catches of 30 or more air yards in 2024 were the second most in a single season since 2006 when the stat first began being tracked.
“Just trying to catch every pass. I kind of embrace myself and hone in on that when I’m on the field. Whether that’s a slant, the last couple of years it’s been go balls, so that’s why I led the category in that, but just definitely trying to catch every pass,” Pickens said of his deep-ball production.
Dallas’ chances at contention definitely reflect an increased sense of confidence in the Cowboys in 2025 following the Pickens acquisition. The betting market saw in an uptick in both the Cowboys’ odds to win the NFC East and the Super Bowl following the trade for Pickens. At BetMGM, the Cowboys leaped from +800 to win the NFC East last Tuesday to now +750. Over at DraftKings Sportsbook, Dallas went from +7000 to win the Super Bowl a week ago to +6000, tied for the 18th best in the NFL. They’ll have an instant opportunity to prove how much that improvement has been made when they kick off the 2025 season in Philadelphia at the defending Super Bowl LIX champion Eagles on Thursday, Sept. 4.
Cowboys 2025 schedule
Below are score projections for all 17 of the Cowboys’ regular season games in 2025 and final record totals. DraftKings set Dallas’ 2025 win total at 7.5 where the over can be had for -130 odds.
| WEEK | Date | OPPONENT | KICKOFF TIME (ET) | NETWORK | Score prediction (Cowboys’ record) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sept. 4 | at Eagles** | 8:20 p.m. | NBC | 27-20, Eagles (0-1) |
2 | Sept. 14 | vs. Giants | 1 p.m. | FOX | 31-16, Cowboys (1-1) |
3 | Sept. 21 | at Bears | 4:25 p.m. | FOX | 24-21, Cowboys (2-1) |
4 | Sept. 28 | vs. Packers | 8:20 p.m. | NBC | 35-24, Packers (2-2) |
5 | Oct. 5 | at Jets | 1 p.m. | FOX | 27-13, Cowboys (3-2) |
6 | Oct. 12 | at Panthers | 1 p.m. | FOX | 34-20, Cowboys (4-2) |
7 | Oct. 19 | vs. Commanders | 4:25 p.m. | FOX | 27-24, Cowboys (5-2) |
8 | Oct. 26 | at Broncos | 4:25 p.m. | CBS | 24-20, Cowboys (6-2) |
9 | Nov. 3 | vs. Cardinals* | 8:15 p.m. | ESPN | 31-27, Cowboys (7-2) |
10 | Nov. 10 | BYE | N/A | N/A | N/A (7-2) |
11 | Nov. 17 | at Raiders* | 8:15 p.m. | ESPN | 35-31, Cowboys (8-2) |
12 | Nov. 23 | vs. Eagles | 4:25 p.m. | FOX | 28-24, Eagles (8-3) |
13 | Nov. 27 | vs. Chiefs*** | 4:30 p.m. | CBS | 27-24, Chiefs (8-4) |
14 | Dec. 4 | at Lions** | 8:15 p.m. | Prime Video | 31-28, Lions (8-5) |
15 | Dec. 14 | vs. Vikings | 8:20 p.m. | NBC | 24-17, Cowboys (9-5) |
16 | Dec. 21 | vs. Chargers | 1 p.m. | FOX | 27-20, Cowboys (10-5) |
17 | Dec. 25 | at Commanders**** | 1 p.m. | Netflix | 35-24, Commanders (10-6) |
18 | Jan. 3/4 | at New York Giants | TBD | TBD | 30-17, Cowboys (11-6) |
* Monday night
** Thursday night
*** Thanksgiving **** Christmas Day
Cowboys’ key schedule notables
- Dallas is still certainly viewed as “American’s Team” as the NFL gave the Cowboys eight standalone games, which is tied for the most in 2025 with the three-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs and the 2024 NFC runner-up Washington Commanders. Eight standalone games is also tied for the most in any single season for one team since 2000 with 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.
- The Cowboys are also the first team in NFL history to have four Thursday games, per CBS Sports Research. Since new head coach Brian Schottenheimer initially joined Dallas’ coaching staff as predecessor Mike McCarthy’s non-play-calling offensive coordinator in 2023, they are a perfect 4-0 when playing on Thursday — the best such record in the entire league on Thursday across the last two seasons. The four 2025 Thursday matchups include the NFL’s 2025 season opener at the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, Thanksgiving at AT&T Stadium against the Chiefs in Week 13, “Thursday Night Football” in Week 14 at the Detroit Lions and Christmas Day in Week 17 at the Commanders.
- Those last three Thursday games Dallas is set to play are part of one, if not the toughest, six-game stretches in NFL scheduling history. The Cowboys 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 the 2025 Cowboys the first team 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. Overall, Dallas’ 2025 opponents combined for a .557 win percentage in 2024 (161-128), which has their upcoming slate tied for the fifth hardest in the NFL along with the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings.
- “We’ve got a spicy schedule at the end when you you compare it to last year’s playoff teams,” Cowboys COO and EVP Stephen Jones said Thursday, via ESPN. “We have a big run there playing a lot of playoff teams. We look forward to that and Schotty’s fired up about the schedule and we’re ready to go.”
- The one thing in Dallas’ favor about this stretch are that four of the six games are at home at AT&T Stadium. Dallas will aim to rebound at home in 2025 after going 2-7 at Jerry World in 2024 following a 16-game home winning streak in the regular season. Improved injury luck in the upcoming season could be the fix for the Cowboys in this area that was once so dominant for them when they marched to three consecutive 12-win campaigns from 2021 to 2023.
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Author: Garrett Podell
May 16, 2025 | 9:46 am
