How the Cowboys picked up an extra win with their schedule

The 2026 NFL schedule release helps Dallas Cowboys fans plan around kickoff times and travel. Opponents were known since the previous season ended, but start times and rest periods affect team performance. A reported schedule-based advantage centers on Dallas avoiding short-week road games. Key examples include a trip to Green Bay after a Thursday night game, a Monday visit to Seattle following Thanksgiving, and a road game at the Los Angeles Rams coming off the team’s bye. Oddsmakers reportedly increased Dallas’s projected season win total from 8.5 to 9.5, with betting lines varying by total. A remaining complication is mentioned but not detailed.

"The premise behind the Cowboys and luck smiling upon them is that Dallas does not have to play any short-week road games all year. Consider that three of the most difficult road games that Dallas will play all season occur with longer rest than normal. The Cowboys will visit the Green Bay Packers after playing on a Thursday night (so the mini-bye), they'll visit the Seattle Seahawks on a Monday after their Thanksgiving Day game, and then they will travel to play the Los Angeles Rams coming off of their bye. That is a pretty sweet way of looking at things."

"People always wonder how this is the case given that the Cowboys' opponents, like everyone's, were known the moment last season ended. We have literally known since January who and where Dallas will play, but things like the start times matter because rest matters. When you travel to places matters. You get the picture."

"The video in question noted that oddsmakers moved Dallas' projected win total from 8.5 on the season to 9.5, but you can still get one or the other from our friends at FanDuel. Obviously the odds are unique to each projected total."

"Whether you are going to a home or away game, maybe you are just coordinating life around the kickoff times, the reality is that the schedule release allowed for certain things to fall into place like that. What's more is that the schedule allowed us to draw some legitimate conclusions about the team's chances."

Read at Blogging The Boys