After being written off by seemingly everyone after the first week of the season, the Cowboys enter the bye week as one of five teams with six wins.
The bye comes at the perfect time, though. The three games in November might pose the most brutal stretch Dallas will face all season.
The week off allows them to heal before the second half begins.
Even before the Cowboys kicked off against Chicago last week, Ezekiel Elliott, Sam Williams, Malik Hook, and Noah Brown were inactive with various injuries.
As the game concluded, Jayron Kearse, Donovan Wilson, Connor McGovern, Anthony Brown, and Anthony Barr all got nicked up during the contest.
The good news is they got both Dak Prescott and Michael Gallup back through the first eight weeks.
The downside is they lost Jourdan Lewis for the season with a foot injury in week seven against the Lions, but no other significant injuries occurred.
They should get Tyron Smith and James Washington back at some point, but don’t expect it to be within the next month.
With the rest coming now, it should allow them to handle their business when they return from the week off.
The Cowboys currently hold the five seed in the NFC playoffs, but that could change quickly if they don’t come out of the bye ready to play good football in November.
If the playoffs started today…
Just as we all expected! #NFL pic.twitter.com/7A9KXlbbQE
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) November 1, 2022
The first of the three games starts week ten with Mike McCarthy’s return to Lambeau field, and no matter how bad the Packers look right now, Aaron Rodgers has the Cowboys’ number.
He is 5-3 against Dallas in his career and will probably be coming off a victory against the Lions the week before.
They cannot overlook them and have plenty of time to prepare for this game. McCarthy needs to ensure they are ready to keep pace in the NFC.
Week 11 is back in the NFC North against the division leader, the Minnesota Vikings, a team the Cowboys beat on the road a season ago. Something to keep an eye on is if the Cowboys travel back home after the matchup with the Packers or if they decide to stay out North.
The Vikings only have one loss currently but will be coming off a showdown with the Bills the week before, and that could be a massive bonus for the Cowboys.
Dallas will have their only home game of the month, ending the three-game stretch, week 12, against the surprising New York Giants on Thanksgiving.
The Giants are fighting for a wild card slot, and the Cowboys have the tiebreaker beating them with Rush at quarterback in MetLife Stadium earlier this season.
I will dive more in-depth into game previews when the weeks are upon us because a lot can change from now until then.
Regardless, one thing is certain for the Cowboys. If they can claw out of those games with three wins, the schedule becomes much softer with matchups against the Colts, Texans, and Jags before they host the Eagles on Christmas Eve.
The Cowboys need to use the bye week to rest up, be ready to take on the toughest part of their schedule and keep the pressure on the rest of the NFC.
