Cowboys primer for 2020 NFL schedule release

Here are a few primers about the 2020 NFL schedule release and what it means for the Dallas Cowboys.

The NFL will release its schedule Thursday night, full of pomp and circumstance with the NFL Network airing a three-hour special to sports starved fans. It’s usually a fun day for fans of the NFL and without anything else going on, the league is making a grand spectacle of its release.

The teams have been given permission to release their schedules themselves, early, and the Dallas Cowboys will do so as well, going live with their own presentation starting at 6:30 p.m. CT on the official team’s website.

Here are some schedule release primers to get you ready for the Dallas Cowboys’ schedule announcement.

Jerry Jones will be front and center

Each of the 32 teams will be represented, at some point, during the NFL Network’s broadcast. After doing their own special, the Cowboys owner and GM will be part of the network’s festivities.

Don’t believe fake social media accounts

There are too many accounts out there “leaking” schedules, don’t believe any of them if they aren’t from reliable sources. You might be on twitter all day looking for updates on the schedule, don’t trust everything you read. Check the names on the accounts too, some people have gotten creative at making the accounts look like the real deal of credible insiders.

Schedule is flexible this season

The NFL is releasing their schedule, but they will have the flexibility to change it if the COVID-19 virus continues to have the country social distancing, or if the season needs to be altered.

We already know Cowboys opponents

We’ve known since the end of the season who the Cowboys opponents will be, we’ll just be getting to the when and where. The Cowboys will play each NFC East rival twice, the entire NFC West and AFC North, along with second places finishers from the other NFC divisions. In this case that means the Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings.

It looks like a bit of a tough road for the Cowboys, but we won’t know until the season starts. Trips to Baltimore, Seattle and Minnesota don’t look like fun. Nor does taking on what should be improved Pittsburgh Steelers or Atlanta Falcons teams that are included on the home slate, along with the San Francisco 49ers.

It’s not that big of a deal…

Much is usually made of the schedule release, but it’s not a huge deal. Fans will go over Dallas’ slate with a fine tooth comb, nit-pick and break it all down. Analysts will predict the Cowboys’ record and divvy up wins and loses based on the schedule.

However, the truth is, it’s all just talk to fill up time until the season starts. No one knows what each teams situation will be when the season comes along. It make look like an easy/tough game now, but injuries, suspensions and other factors can come into play by the time the games begin. Losers last year can turn into winners this season; look no further than the 49ers of 2019 to see how quickly fortunes can change. The 49ers looked like an easy win last year, which didn’t turn out to be the case.

…Except that this year, it kind of is a big deal

It may seem like a contradiction. OK, it is, but 2020 is a weird time. With no sports or much else to take our minds off our current situation, the NFL schedule release brings a sense of normalcy to sports fans. It’ll allow a few hours of fun and entertainment at a time where we need the distraction.

The league will take a different schedule path this time around

This makes a lot of sense. If the league has to delay or cancel games, the least important games on the Cowboys’ (or anyone’s) schedule will be out of conference games. In a season that could get shortened by COVID-19, this feels like a logical path.

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