The Cowboys might have nothing to play for, but Brian Schottenheimer wants to win as badly as ever.
The Dallas Cowboys' 2025 season will come to an end in Week 18 as they travel to MetLife Stadium to face the New York Giants.
For most, there is nothing exciting about this matchup.
But Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer is not most people.
His first year in the big seat at The Star sees his team miss the playoffs, with the only carrot dangling in front of him being not having a losing season.
In truth, its neither here nor there and it is purely for aesthetics.
Does a 7-9-1 season really look better than an 8-8-1 season?
Well, either way, Schotty is amped for Week 18.
“Excited,” Schottenheimer said. “Got one more championship opportunity left and want to go out with a win and want to finish the season five and one, hopefully in the division and eight, eight and one.”
We know that the Cowboys aren't in the "organic tanking" business ... yet.
But this week, if we are being truthful, we should see a host of starters either sit out or have their snap counts drastically reduced.
READ MORE: Cowboys Should Rest Injured Javonte Williams But Work On Signing RB for 2026
Logan Wilson didn't play a snap in the win over the Washington Commanders. Instead, rookie Shemar James played over 30 snaps. That's what we are talking about.
Others like Joe Milton, Jonathan Mingo, Jaydon Blue, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Marist Luifau, Jay Toia, and Alijah Clark are just some of the names we "should" see in New York.
Yes, that would fly in the face of Schotty's "compete every day" mantra, but let's face it, no mantra is worthy of potentially putting your franchise's 2026 season at risk, right?
Interestingly, the Giants are 3-13 and they too are talking about trying to win the finale instead of reaping the draft-related benefits of losing.
READ MORE: Cowboys 2026 Schedule Preview: Playoff Future Looks Blurry
So both franchises share a philosophy ... as they'll share a seat on the couch watching the playoffs on TV.
In the end, Schottenheimer is "excited" about going 5-1 in the division and finishing the year 8-8-1. To do that, the starters might have to participate.
And a large portion of Cowboys Nation hopes they don't.