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An illustrated prediction of every Dallas Cowboys game in the 2024 season

Cowboys insider David Moore, with an assist from staff artist Michael Hogue, offers his pick for each matchup.

The Cowboys have won 12 games in three consecutive seasons. Will they make it four?

No.

Dallas is a good team. Very good. Better than the doom and gloom that swirled around the team’s frustrated fan base after the demolition they suffered at the hands of a young Green Bay team in the playoffs.

This team still has stars. You win with stars. But it has unproven depth and a tough schedule early.

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Here’s a prediction of how the season will unfold:

Week 1: Cowboys at Browns (3:25 p.m., Ch. 4)

Prediction: Loss

(Michael Hogue)
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Myles Garrett has tormented hordes of offensive linemen in his first seven seasons with Cleveland. There are better ways for first-round pick Tyler Guyton to be welcomed to the NFL. But, hey, the Cowboys rookie left tackle had to line up against Micah Parsons day-in-and-day-out in training camp and didn’t seem overwhelmed. Still ...

Record: 0-1

Week 2: Saints at Cowboys (Noon, Ch. 4)

Prediction: Win

(Michael Hogue)
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This is the Cowboys home opener. Dallas didn’t lose at AT&T Stadium last season, unless you don’t count that Green Bay debacle — or whatever stronger words you chose to use — in the postseason. Dallas has won 16 straight games at home, with the last loss coming to Tampa Bay to open the 2022 season. New Orleans? Laissez les bons temps rouler.

Record: 1-1

Week 3: Ravens at Cowboys (3:25 p.m., Ch. 4)

Prediction: Win

(Michael Hogue)

Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott are quarterbacks of a feather. Two routinely dominant performers in the regular season who have been unable to transfer that success to the postseason. The Ravens went out and got Derrick Henry to power their running game. The Cowboys opted for a committee. This should be good.

Record: 2-1

Week 4: Cowboys at NY Giants (7:15 p.m., Prime Video)

Prediction: Win

(Michael Hogue)
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Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses ... Or the New York Giants will do. Prescott lost three games his rookie season and two of them were to the Giants. Since then? He hasn’t lost. Can the streak continue? There’s no reason to believe it won’t.

Record: 3-1

Week 5: Cowboys at Steelers (7:20 p.m., Ch. 5)

Prediction: Win

(Michael Hogue)
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Mike McCarthy is a Pittsburgh guy. It’s a thing. Pittsburgh guys love nothing better than going back to the place they were born to earn some bragging rights. Put on the hard hat, crack open a Rolling Rock — which McCarthy’s dad served in the bar he owned — and let the game begin.

Record: 4-1

Week 6: Lions at Cowboys (3:25 p.m., Ch. 4)

Prediction: Loss

(Michael Hogue)
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Prediction: After decades of irrelevance, the Lions are back. Coach Dan Campbell, who played a little tight end for the Cowboys back in the day, has this team on the rise and Detroit buzzing. The Lions were one of the top teams in the NFC last season, but staying there can be more difficult than breaking through sometimes. A win here for Detroit would be big.

Record: 4-2

Week 7: Bye week

(Michael Hogue)
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Six games in the book before the Cowboys get a break. Cut to the coaches and players talking about how this is a good time for a bye because of injuries to so-and-so and so forth. The truth is, whatever week the bye comes, it’s welcome. Owner Jerry Jones can take a quick nap and be fresh for that next game.

Week 8: Cowboys at 49ers (7:20 p.m., Ch. 5)

Prediction: Loss

(Michael Hogue)
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You know that bully on the playground that beats you up for lunch money? That’s what San Francisco does to Dallas. Not accurate? You’re right. The Niners have steamrolled the Cowboys’ self-confidence in recent years. Can Dallas stand up to them and reverse the trend? Maybe next time.

Record: 4-3

Week 9: Cowboys at Falcons (Noon, Ch. 4)

Prediction: Win

(Michael Hogue)
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Atlanta has one of the most exciting young running backs in the league in Bijan Robinson. The Cowboys have one of the oldest running backs in the league in Ezekiel Elliott and a committee. Quarterback Kirk Cousins is just biding time for the Falcons until Michael Penix Jr. takes over.

Record: 5-3

Week 10: Eagles at Cowboys (3:25 p.m., Ch. 11)

Prediction: Win

(Michael Hogue)
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Philadelphia interviewed Kellen Moore for its head coaching vacancy three years ago before hiring Nick Sirianni. After the Eagles went in the tank in the second half of last season, the organization turned to Moore. The former Cowboys offensive coordinator will have fun with the array of weapons he’s been given. That doesn’t mean the Eagles will win this one.

Record: 6-3

Week 11: Texans at Cowboys (7:15 p.m., ESPN)

Prediction: Win

(Michael Hogue)
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Texas doesn’t really qualify as part of the Wild West, but it has been known to have a shootout or two. Prescott helped energize the Cowboys as a rookie, playing beyond his years. Seven years later, C.J. Stroud did the same for the Texans. The state ain’t big enough for the both of them.

Record: 7-3

Week 12: Cowboys at Commanders (Noon, Ch. 4)

Prediction: Loss

(Michael Hogue)
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Dan Quinn blew into Dallas as a coordinator and transformed a historically bad defense into one of the league’s best immediately. The Cowboys became one of the league’s most opportunistic defensive units. He can do the same for Washington as head coach. Quinn is smart, a motivational leader and knows a thing or two about the Cowboys offense.

Record: 7-4

Week 13: NY Giants at Cowboys (3:30 p.m., Ch. 4)

Prediction: Win

(Michael Hogue)
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Elliott isn’t the player he was his first four seasons in the league. But he still likes to have fun. What better time to jump into the Salvation Army kettle to celebrate the holidays? And, you know, the opponent is the Giants. Do we need to repeat that Prescott stat again?

Record: 8-4

Week 14: Bengals at Cowboys (7:15 p.m., ESPN)

Prediction: Loss

(Michael Hogue)
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Joe Burrow is special. The only thing not special about the Cincinnati quarterback is the 13 starts he’s missed in his first four seasons. And he can throw the ball to Ja’Marr Chase. Speaking of Chase, who is better, him or CeeDee Lamb? The two can compare stats and contracts after this game.

Record: 8-5

Week 15: Cowboys at Panthers (Noon, Ch. 4)

Prediction: Win

(Michael Hogue)
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The Cowboys thought so little of the Panthers on their trip to Carolina last season that Jones and former Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson held a press conference to announce that Johnson would finally be going into the franchise’s Ring of Honor. And they kept talking after the game had started. They didn’t miss anything.

Record: 9-5

Week 16: Buccaneers at Cowboys (7:20 p.m., Ch. 5)

Prediction: Win

(Michael Hogue)
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The pirate ship is an iconic fixture at Tampa Bay’s home stadium. Well, the Bucs come to AT&T Stadium this time. Jones will see your dinky little pirate ship and raise you a Bravo Eugenia. If you own a sea vessel that doesn’t have room for a helicopter pad, what good is it?

Record: 10-5

Week 17: Eagles at Cowboys (3:25 p.m., Ch. 4)

Prediction: Loss

(Michael Hogue)
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Dallas or Philadelphia. One or the other has won the NFC East in seven of the last eight seasons. No team has won the division in back-to-back seasons since the early 2000s. Let’s see, the Cowboys won last season so that means ... The Eagles and quarterback Jalen Hurts will be sitting atop the division unless Micah Parsons and Co. can bring him down.

Record: 10-6

Week 18: Commanders at Cowboys (TBD)

Prediction: Win

(Michael Hogue)
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Dan Snyder’s reign is over in Washington. His malfeasance as an owner has created a prolonged honeymoon period for the new ownership and coach. So what if the Commanders lose this game and the Cowboys secure their playoff seeding with a win? All is good in Washington. In Dallas? To be determined.

Record: 11-6

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