The Dallas Cowboys' 2026 regular season is upon us.

A busy offseason has brought several changes to the roster and coaching staff, notably on the defense after poor play on that side of the ball last year.

Christian Parker is in as the new coordinator. Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence headline an impressive NFL Draft class that prioritized playmaking. And free agent signings in the secondary foster the belief that a turnaround can be in the cards for as soon as this year.

But really, anything slightly better than last year will be welcome, and hardly difficult to manage (right?).

Oh yeah, and on offense, the Cowboys return stars George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb, and Dak Prescott, along with valuable pieces like Javonte Williams, Jake Ferguson, and a solid offensive line (but sees a downgrade now that it’s without Tyler Smith).

So with the 18-week schedule launching this week, here is "your ticket,'' so to speak, to a game-by-game look at what the Cowboys will be up to in 2026. ... and see if (in your mind) there are enough wins to add up to playoffs.

The Cowboys, once again, are one of the top teams in the NFL when it comes to nationally televised games. It's a historic NFC East rivalry that closes the first Sunday of the NFL season after Dallas drew the first Thursday night affair to open 2025.

A top headline here will be the Giants' decision to draft an offensive tackle rather than the Ohio State All-American Downs.

It'll be the rookie's first chance to prove that it was a bad decision by the G-Men. He’ll likely see multiple matchups with Giants star Malik Nabers, who is expected to return from injury in time for Week 1.

Dallas' home opener comes against Jayden Daniels, who was banged up all season long for a Commanders team that was trying to build on an NFC Championship Game berth from the year prior.

Daniels is the X-factor in Washington's chances, so this could be an early test for the Cowboys if he's healthy.

This is the beginning of the Cowboys' most grueling travel stretch, which could be detrimental to their chances of stacking wins early in the year.

This will be another televised spectacle for the NFL as it is the league's first-ever game in Rio. And for Dallas, the issue isn't the bright lights, but the obscurity of what an international game brings.

Practice schedules are thrown off. An extra day of travel commences. And unfamiliar surroundings, playing conditions, and atmosphere knock players off rhythm.

This is the Cowboys' first venture off home soil in over a decade, meaning no active player on the roster has experienced it before.

After the Brazil game (a "home" game for Dallas, but, of course, requiring travel) three of the next four games will be true road contests.

This one, however, is as close as it gets with the Cowboys taking a short trip down the Texas triangle to visit Houston.

The Texans put together their third straight season of double-digit wins, but lost in the Division Round of the playoffs in each. They'll be coming off their first road game of the season (at Indianapolis).

Can C.J. Stroud defend home field? And more importantly, can the Cowboys avoid a travel-induced hangover?

And then a short week? No doubt, the Cowboys’ voluntary post-practice conditioning work in Oxnard had this type of schedule in mind.

This standalone game features a homecoming (adjacent) for Texas-native Baker Mayfield, a native of Austin who spent time at Texas Tech and nearby Oklahoma for college.

It'll be Year 5 for head coach Todd Bowles, Year 4 with newly-extended Mayfield under center, and Year 2 with his breakout wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.

Another test for the new-look Cowboys defense.

You think the NFL pushed back this matchup as far as it could to hope for a return of injured pass rusher Micah Parsons?

A crucial sack in the team's meeting last year, following Dallas' preseason trade with Green Bay involving the All-Pro defensive end, resulted in a 40-40 tie.

This time, Lambeau Field is the host site under the SNF spotlight. In mid-October, the weather could also be a factor that Dallas (and maybe even Micah, himself) will need to mentally prepare for.

That's three straight primetime games in the heart of the Cowboys' schedule. Dallas nearly got a win in Philadelphia in last year's season-opener, but that was after the Eagles' star D-tackle Jalen Carter was kicked out for spatting on Prescott.

Dallas can't bet on that happening again, and with another major headliner game included in this series, this can be an opportunity where the Cowboys steal one.

Speaking of stealing one, that's exactly what the shorthanded Cardinals did at AT&T Stadium last year, when Jacoby Brissett guided Arizona to a 27-17 win.

Kyler Murray is off to Minnesota. Former Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson (plus secondary coach Ryan Smith) is now in Dallas and will likely be a defensive leader at this point in the year.

Brissett, however, remains.

At this point in 2025, the Colts were 7-1 and looking like a team surprisingly capable of competing in the AFC. As a result, they extended quarterback Daniel Jones to a two-year, $88 million contract to remain the starter ... but not for much of this season. Jones tore his Achilles in Week 14.

The Cowboys lead this all-time series 11-7, with the last meeting, back in 2022, resulting in a 54-19 demolition in Arlington.

This Sunday afternoon affair is the first of three straight home games for Dallas.

With second-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer at the helm, hopefully the Cowboys are wiped of the horrors of the 49ers' Divisional win over Dallas in 2022 and the two subsequent losses in the following years.

The rebuilding Titans are led by former top overall pick Cam Ward, former Cowboy Tony Pollard, and an intriguing crop of wide receivers in Calvin Ridley, Wan'Dale Robinson and No. 4 overall pick in 2026, Carnell Tate.

Pollard is sure to receive a warm welcome in his first game back in Arlington after he departed the team in free agency ahead of the 2024 season.

Last year on the road, Dallas ran into another former Cowboy running back in Rico Dowdle of the Carolina Panthers. Dowdle put up over 200 yards from scrimmage.

Dak Prescott is 7-1 all-time against the Eagles in his career at home. This is just the second time the Eagles are playing the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, and Philly could make it its third win in a row (1989 and 2014).

roundtable.ioCowboys' Thanksgiving vs. Eagles: 'Most Pivotal, Most Scary' Game On Schedule?The Cowboys will host the Eagles on Thanksgiving, with both teams possessing elite records that will come to an end for one team.

Dallas has a mini bye week before traveling to the Pacific Northwest for a meeting with the reigning Super Bowl champs.

They'll also run into a pair of familiar faces: second-year Seahawks edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence, and newly-signed partner Dante Fowler Jr.

The actual bye coming right after an 11-day break is the NFL's way of apologizing for the early-season air miles. The Cowboys will take it with a likely crucial final quarter of the year awaiting.

The Rams have the league's most primetime games with seven, two more than the Cowboys' total for 2026.

Dallas will travel to the ritzy SoFi Stadium to face Highland Park native Matthew Stafford in what is potentially his final NFL season. Los Angeles signed another DFW guy, Myles Garrett, and now arguably has the NFL's best roster after luring future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald out of retirement for one more Lombardi push.

The Cowboys' last nationally-televised game of the season is a meeting with Liam Coen's up-start Jags that put up their most wins in a season since 1999.

Depending on how the front half of this season transpires (if its anything like last year), Dallas could be running into a team with more momentum than anyone could have predicted.

Dallas ends the season with the same two games it began the year with, but switching venues. Prescott tries to build on a record vs. the Giants - 14-3 entering this year - that speaks volumes about the two programs.

The Cowboys will visit DC in the last game of the season. ... in what so often seems like a "weather game'' ... and which in 2026 might serve as a Dallas playoff determinant.