The NFL schedule release has become a major holiday on the sport’s annual calendar, the day fans can start looking at travel logistics, the day the team’s primetime appearances are set, the day holiday plans and even family vacations come into focus for some, the day the rest of the year starts to fall into place.
But while many within Cowboys Nation are already zeroed in on whether or not the Week 14 bye is too late or how the team will fare during that gauntlet of playoff teams that starts in late November and runs through December, it’s different for the players who will actually do it.
The cliché is “one game at a time.” Quarterback Dak Prescott admits he doesn’t stray too far from that when it comes to previewing the upcoming season.
“First three games,” Prescott told reporters at the Reliant Home Run Derby on Thursday night about what he looks at when the schedule is released. “After that, I couldn’t tell you much more. I mean, I know who we’re playing on Thanksgiving and some here or there, but to me, it’s the first three games. … Honestly, every year, I probably couldn’t tell you who our fourth opponent is until Week 2. Just keeping it simple.”
So the veteran knows the Cowboys will kickoff their season on the road in front of a nationwide TV audience, with a Sunday night starter against the division-rival Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Prescott says he’s happy to launch the season under the lights of primetime.
“It’s the best,” he admitted. “I anticipated it, having [had] it a bunch: opening the season in primetime. And then just getting to do it up there in New York, it’ll be really, really fun. Always fun playing against those guys, always fun playing on primetime. Something we’re used to, and something I really enjoy.”
The home opener happens in Week 2, with the Cowboys hosting the Washington Commanders before what is sure to be a packed house at AT&T Stadium.
But the Week 3 game- the last one of the batch Prescott is paying attention to, for now- will come with a new wrinkle: a trip to Brazil to face the Ravens in the first NFL game ever staged in Rio de Janeiro.
“I’m excited,” Prescott explained. “First time playing an international game. Going into my 11th season, I would have thought we’d have had one by now, but it’s all good. Obviously, the travel will be tough. But it’s part of growing this game, something that we’ll manage.”
The travel will indeed be tough. Though Rio’s time zone is just two hours ahead of Dallas, it’ll take a 11- or 12-hour flight to get there.
“Hopefully just to get good sleep on the plane, I think, will be one of the biggest keys,” Prescott said about the long-distance travel.
And although Prescott says he hasn’t looked that far ahead, the immediate aftermath of that game will be even harder. Following the team’s 12-hour flight home, the NFL schedule-makers have given Dallas another game they have to travel to- in the early-afternoon slot- the very next Sunday… and then a Thursday night game after that.
Prescott tried to downplay the mind-numbing logistics, pointing out it’s the same pacing the Cowboys already go through every year in late November.
“We’ve been a part of three games in 11 days every year, pretty much, with our Thanksgiving game,” he explained. “So nothing new: just having to do it earlier and probably bounce back and, I’m guessing, do it again at Thanksgiving.”
Prescott says he won’t be looking too far ahead when it comes to the 2026 season. And he sure won’t be using extended travel or short weeks or scheduling quirks as excuses when it comes to getting the team off to a quick start with early victories right out of the gate.
“If you can get on top and win those games…” Prescott mused. “It happens fast, so you’ve just got to make sure you’re locked in and don’t let those games get by you.”
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: ‘Nothing new’: Dak Prescott unfazed by Cowboys’ brutal early-season schedule, travel
Reporting by Todd Brock, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
