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What's The Toughest Game On Cowboys' 2025 Schedule?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated May 12, 2025 7:31 AM ET

The Dallas Cowboys under Brian Schottenheimer will enter the 2025 season as somewhat of an unknown commodity.

With a run-first approach, a solid offensive line, and now a genuine top receiver duo in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, there are feel-good vibes among Cowboys Nation after the 2024 debacle that saw Mike McCarthy's team post a 7-10 record and miss out on the playoffs.

So there is some optimism ahead of the new season.

The NFL is set to release the 2025 schedule so fans know when and where their teams will be playing, and for the Cowboys, while we know their opponents, we don't know when and where they will play them.

Looking at the list of opponents, Pro Football Network has named the Detroit Lions as the Cowboys' hardest matchup of the year.

"America’s team has to travel to Detroit to face the team that America has fallen in love with recently," Pro Football Network writes. "The Lions went into Jerry’s World in Week 6 of last season and won by 38 points. If a healthy Dak Prescott can post a competitive effort on the road against a top-tier team in the conference, it would go a long way toward proving that this team is ready to compete for a playoff spot in a strong NFC East."

These two have developed quite the rivalry over the past two seasons, with the Taylor Decker reporting as eligible fiasco that saw Dallas win 20-19 in December of 2023, as he was called for illegal touching late in the game that could have seen the Lions win.

There was a big uproar over it, and the Lions got their revenge the following season, in a 47-9 curb-stomping of the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

Now, this new rivalry makes its way to Ford Field and you can bet the Lions fans will make it as hostile as they can for Dak Prescott and Co.

We have seen the first two chapters, both in Dallas, now the third installment comes to Detroit, in what could be the hardest matchup Dak and Schottenheimer have all season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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