When the 2014 NFL schedules
were released on April 23, it felt like Christmas morning. NFL fans across the
country were already making projections of how their teams would fare by
season’s end. However, for Cowboys fans, the slate of games looked like a
nightmare on Elm Street. The Dallas Cowboys will open their 2014 campaign
versus NFC rival San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 7 at AT&T Stadium. The most
recent matchup between these storied franchises was a Sept. 2011 overtime win
by the Cowboys at Candlestick Park. QB Tony Romo rallied the troops to victory
by overcoming a 24-14 fourth quarter deficit while dealing with a broken rib
injury.
The season opener will set a
barometer of a team who has gone 8-8 in three straight seasons. The Cowboys’
first 10 games of the season are favorable with road games at Tennessee and St.
Louis and a trip across the pond to play Jacksonville in London on Nov. 9. The team
will have five prime time games including a week 4 tussle with the New Orleans
Saints and an Oct. 27 game versus the Washington Redskins on ESPN’s Monday
Night Football. Following the week 11
bye, four of their final six games of the season are on the road with trips
within the division at NY Giants (Nov. 23), at Eagles (Dec. 14) and the season
finale at Redskins (Dec. 28). Speaking of the Eagles, the Cowboys will host
them for the annual Thanksgiving Day game on Nov. 27. The overall view of the
schedule is that while difficult, the Cowboys can find ways to win at least 11 games
and win the division if they do not get in their own way. Being that Romo has
turned 34, the Boys must become a run-oriented team to take the pressure off
Romo so that he doesn’t make anymore game-ending turnovers. In addition, the
defense must step up in 2014 and protect double-digit leads in the fourth
quarter if the team will have any kind of postseason success. The Dallas Cowboys should go 11-5 and will
avoid yet another “Win and In” situation.
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