The NFL has dropped the full 2025 slate, and once again, the Dallas Cowboys are front and center. They finished third in their division. They missed the playoffs. And yet—they’re opening the season on primetime against the defending Super Bowl champs, hosting the Super Bowl runners-up on Thanksgiving, and playing a division rival on Christmas Day. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Cowboys are still the main event, and the league knows it.
The Cowboys Are Still America’s Team, Like It Or Not
The Dallas Cowboys Are Primetime Darlings No Matter What
Despite missing the playoffs and being a late-season afterthought, Dallas will be all over national television in 2025. They open the season on Thursday Night Football against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, host Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving Day, and hit the national stage again on Christmas Day against the Washington Commanders. And that’s before we even get to their two Sunday and Monday Night Football slots each.
The Cowboys are scheduled for a staggering eight standalone games, tied for the most in the league with the Chiefs and Commanders. The NFL doesn’t view Dallas as background noise—they know better. They are a national draw. No other 7-10 team gets this kind of treatment. Among the other four teams with the most standalone games, the lowest win total last year belonged to Washington, and they won 12 games.
But this isn’t about competitive merit—it’s about marketability, and it’s about ratings. And nobody moves the needle like the Cowboys.
Call it nostalgia, call it whatever you want—Dallas still owns the national stage.
Nov 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons (11) stands with Madden Thanksgiving MVP trophy after defeating the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images
An Unprecedented Thursday Slate
The Cowboys are making schedule history in 2025. Dallas is the first team in NFL history to play four Thursday games in a single season. It’s a scheduling quirk, yes, but it’s also a reflection of the Cowboys’ gravitational pull on the league’s biggest stages. Here’s how it shakes out:
Week 1: at Eagles (NFL season opener)
Week 13: vs. Chiefs (Thanksgiving Day)
Week 14: at Lions (Thursday Night Football)
Week 17: at Commanders (Christmas Day)
Why is the NFL doing this? Simple: ratings. The Cowboys draw ratings. You either watch because you love them, or you hate-watch them, hoping to see them fall on their faces. Either way, you’re watching.
The opening night of the 2024 NFL season averaged 28.9 million viewers, a record for an NFL kickoff game. Last year’s Thanksgiving slate saw a record viewership of 34.2 million.) across all three games. And Christmas Day of last year saw record-breaking ratings, drawing nearly 65 million U.S. viewers. What do all of those games have in common this year? They are on Thursday, and they feature the Cowboys.
Despite losing their quarterback mid-season en route to a 7-10 finish, Dallas still averaged 23.14 million viewers per game in 2024. That was third in the league behind only a pair of 15-win teams—the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs and the darlings of 2024, the Detroit Lions.
The NFL didn’t give Dallas these games by accident—they did so because the country always tunes in. Whether they rise or fall under that spotlight, one thing is certain: everyone will be watching.
The Gauntlet: Weeks 12-17 Are Brutal
Dallas better start fast, because the end of the schedule is filthy. They’ll face their toughest test down the stretch, and it’s not subtle. From Week 12 through Week 17, the Cowboys run into a buzzsaw:
Week 12: vs. Eagles
Week 13: vs. Chiefs (Thanksgiving Day)
Week 14: at Lions (Thursday Night Football)
Week 15: vs. Vikings (Sunday Night Football)
Week 16: vs. Chargers
Week 17: at Commanders (Christmas Day)
That six-game stretch features teams that averaged a whopping 13.5 wins in 2024. All six made the playoffs. All six expect to contend again. According to Warren Sharp, Dallas faces the second-hardest schedule in the league to close the season.
Oh, and don’t forget the compressed schedule: Dallas plays three games in 12 days from Weeks 12-14—Eagles, Chiefs, and Lions. That’s arguably the most brutal three-game stretch any team will face all season.
The Cowboys can’t afford a slow start. If they’re hovering around .500 when this run begins, their playoff outlook could get grim fast. These aren’t just games—they’re measuring sticks. If Dallas is fraudulent, this is where they’ll be exposed. If they’re contenders, this is where they prove it.
The Stage Is Set, Now It’s On Dallas To Deliver
The Dallas Cowboys are still America’s Team, and the schedule-makers proved it: eight standalone games, national holiday showcases, and a closing stretch that ranks among the toughest in the NFL. Whether they earned it or not, Dallas will once again be one of the most visible teams in football.
The league knows the Cowboys draw. But the spectacle has to translate into substance. Last year’s record aside, Dallas has a good team, and they should compete in the NFC. However, if they want to show they’re more than just a ratings machine, they’ll have to prove it against a demanding schedule built to expose pretenders.
The stage is set. It’s time to go win.
Main Image: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images