The coronavirus pandemic has done coach Mike McCarthy no favors in his first year as coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
With no offseason program, new coaches are at a disadvantage because they won't get an opportunity to implement their schedule, schemes, environment and unique culture until training camp.
But McCarthy will not be able to use any of that as an excuse. Winning is expected in year one. But the good news is that the Cowboys' weak 2020 schedule does give McCarthy and his team a chance to find themselves.
In terms of strength of the schedule, the Cowboys' slate of opponents ranks 30th in the league based on 2019 records.
Only two of their first nine opponents made the playoffs last season, so there is the opportunity to get off to a good start. And a personal favorite of McCarthy is that the Cowboys don't play their first NFC East game until they host the New York Giants in Week 5.
"I really like the way the schedule lays out," McCarthy said. "It's kind of nice not to have a division game until we can get started and find out where we are as a football team."
But starting against non-NFC East opponents means starting against stiffer competition in the first few weeks. The Cowboys (8-8 in 2019) will open the season on Sept. 13 in Los Angeles against a Rams squad they thrashed, 44-21, late last season. Still, the Rams (9-7) would have made the postseason as the third wild-card team if the new playoff format that was recently adopted for 2020 had been in place last year. The Cowboys play their first home game against the Atlanta Falcons (7-9) on Sept. 20, and then go on the road to take on the Seattle Seahawks (11-5) on Sept. 27.
October is undoubtedly the softest month on their 2020 calendar with four straight games against teams with losing records last season _ the Cleveland Browns (6-10) on Oct. 4, the Giants (4-12) on Oct. 11, the Arizona Cardinals (5-10-1) on Oct. 19 and the Washington Redskins (3-13) on Oct. 25. Even better, the first three of those games are at home.
The season could be determined by a tough middle stretch that includes road games at the Eagles (9-7) on Nov. 1 and Minnesota Vikings (10-6) on Nov. 22 with a tough home match-up against the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-8) on Nov. 8. The Cowboys' Week 10 bye is sandwiched in between.
The late bye comes after nine games and will mark 14 straight weeks of games dating back to the preseason opener against the Steelers in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 6.
The soft start is offset by a tough close in the month of December as the Cowboys have games at the Baltimore Ravens (13-3) on Dec. 3 and then two home games against the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers (12-4) on Dec. 20 and the Eagles on Dec. 27, in a battle that could once again determine who wins the division.
