2011 Game-By-Game Schedule Predictions for the Dallas Cowboys: Non-Divisional Home and Away

The Dallas Cowboys had a terrible season in 2010. There were a lot of reasons for that. An injury to their quarterback, a coach who had lost his authority and other reasons coincided to make 2010 an unexpectedly down year for the Cowboys. Will they do better in 2011?

I've already taken an extensive look at the Cowboys against the NFC East. Now, how will the 'Boys do outside of their division?

I am using FB Schedules' "2011 Dallas Cowboys Football Schedule" as reference.

The Dallas Cowboys against non-divisional opponents on the road:

The Cowboys are going to be doing a lot of traveling outside of their division in 2011 with trips to the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots and New York Jets on their schedule. Of these five teams, two were playoff teams last year, and Tampa Bay very well could have been with a 10-6 record. I'm predicting easy victories over the Cardinals and 49ers, but tough defeats against the Bucs, Pats, and Jets. All in all, the Cowboys will have a 2-3 non-divisional road record. With this much travel and a fairly tough schedule, I don't think that is too bad.

The Dallas Cowboys against non-divisional opponents at home:

Here is where I believe Dallas makes its stand for the NFC East championship. They host the Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. As far as schedules go, those five games would be every team's dream -- all teams on this schedule had losing records in 2010. That should help you understand my prediction for a 4-1 home record in this section, with the Cowboys' only defeat coming at the hands of the Seahawks. I'm not sure I understand why.

In the end, that adds up to a 10-6 record for the 2011 season, enough for a playoff berth and an NFC East championship. Whether or not Dallas will manage to do much in the playoffs remains to be seen.

I will say that the reason I wanted to spend a little more time on the Cowboys, other than the fact they are "America's Team," is that I have a lot of respect for Jason Garrett. He knows football and he will keep discipline within the confines of the Dallas team.

Reference:

FB Schedules Website, "2011 Dallas Cowboys Football Schedule"