Emmanuel Acho Argues Cowboys Have the “Toughest” Five-Game Stretch in Entire NFL

The Cowboys have drawn the fourth hardest regular season schedule for the 2026 NFL season.

Emmanuel Acho Argues Cowboys Have the “Toughest” Five-Game Stretch in Entire NFL

Dak Prescott and Emmanuel Acho inside the circle (Image via IMAGO/X)

In Short
  • The Dallas Cowboys are predicted to face the toughest five-game stretch in the NFL during the 2026 season.
  • Emmanuel Acho expressed doubts about the Cowboys winning more than one or two games in that challenging period.
  • The Cowboys have the fourth hardest schedule in the league, according to analysis by Jacob Camenker of USA Today.

The Dallas Cowboys are looking to bounce back in 2026 after finishing 7-9-1 last NFL campaign. To make sure the Cowboys turn better than the previous year’s record, owner/general manager Jerry Jones made key additions through the draft and convinced wide receiver George Pickens to sign the franchise tag.

All the attention shifted toward May 14, when the NFL had selected to release the 2026 regular season schedule. Leaks had hinted that the Cowboys are set to play their week three game against the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil, not before kicking off the season by facing rivals the New York Giants. Dallas fans also got to know their opponents for this year’s Thanksgiving Day fixture, the Philadelphia Eagles.

After the NFL released the full schedule, former Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho predicted that the Cowboys might start the season with a losing record.

I don’t know if there’s a tougher… six-week stretch in all of football, then the six weeks stretch the Dallas Cowboys have. Baltimore in Brazil, at Houston, Tampa Bay prime time, at Green Bay prime time, Philadelphia prime time. There’s not a tougher five game stretch in all of football then the Cowboys have this season. From week three to week seven… If the Cowboys win one of those games great, two of those games, excellent. [However] I do not see them winning them winning two games in that five-game stretch.

Emmanuel Acho said on a segment of Speakeasy
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Dallas Cowboys 2026 NFL schedule strength revealed

Every year since 1993, Cowboys fans have chanted that the current NFL season is when the team will finally win a Super Bowl. However, as Acho noted, the Cowboys can struggle to put together a winning run given the strength of the schedule.

Emmanuel Acho Argues Cowboys Have the "Toughest" Five-Game Stretch in Entire NFL
Dak Prescott (Image via IMAGO)

Jacob Camenker of USA Today calculated the difficulty of each NFL team’s regular-season schedule. It’s not looking good for the Cowboys. According to Camenker, the Cowboys have drawn the fourth hardest or the 28th easiest schedule.

The Arizona Cardinals take the top spot, followed by the Miami Dolphins, the Carolina Panthers, the Cowboys, and the Los Angeles Rams wrap up the top 5 hardest 2026 regular-season NFL schedules.

How many prime-time games will the Cowboys play in 2026?

The Cowboys may be in the midst of one of the league’s longest Super Bowl droughts, but they remain America’s Team, with Dallas games consistently pulling in huge audiences. The 2025 Thanksgiving matchup between the Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs broke all previous regular-season viewing records.

To make sure fans stay entertained, the NFL schedule makers assign Dallas several prime-time games. In 2025, the Cowboys had six prime-time games, which remains the same in 2026.

  • Week 1 – September 13: Giants vs. Cowboys 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC (Sunday Night Football)
  • Week 5 – October 8: Dallas Cowboys vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8:15 p.m., Prime Video (Thursday Night Football)
  • Week 7 – October 26: Eagles vs. Cowboys, 8:15 p.m., ESPN (Monday Night Football)
  • Week 13 – December 7: Seattle Seahawks vs. Cowboys, 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN (Monday Night Football)
  • Week 16 – December 27: Cowboys vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC (Sunday Night Football)

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