There should be no place like home for the Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys won 16 consecutive regular-season home games from 2022 to 2023. That streak ended quickly last season; the start of a brutal 2-7 performance in 2024 at AT&T Stadium. If Dallas is going to get back to the playoffs this year, getting back to handling their business at home would be a very positive step.
Of course, overall records are ultimately more important than home versus away. In fact, before 2022, the Cowboys tended to either finish with a fairly even split or do better on the road. In 2021, they won seven away games to only five at home. In 2014, Dallas went a perfect 8-0 in away games and only won four at home. It’s why, for several years prior to 2022, there were ample jokes and outright criticism of the Cowboys’ lack of home-field advantage.
Unfortunately, Dallas’ first home game in 2024 was that ugly 44-19 loss to the Saints. In fact, they lost their first five home games, with four of them being total blowouts. Only the lowly Giants coming to visit on Thanksgiving paused the bleeding, but that and a win over Tampa Bay were the only two victories at AT&T Stadium last season.
Why do home wins matter? They’re not weighted any differently in the standings or serve as a tiebreaker. Mostly, it’s more fodder for conversation and fanbase pride.
However, there’s a reason that Vegas gives home teams a token advantage. Historically, they win about 58% of the time. Some teams even have tangible homefield strengths like crowd noise or outdoor elements. And as any of us can attest, travel is generally hard on the body. Well-rested home teams are typically considered to have a natural performance edge.
Very generally speaking, winning your home games is like insurance for the goal of making the playoffs. And that’s certainly where we want to see the 2025 Dallas Cowboys.
Their first opportunity to start a fresh run of home dominance comes in Week 2 against the Giants. As with any new season, we’ll have to wait and see what kind of team New York is fielding. The same is true for the Cowboys, especially with a revamped coaching staff. But at the very least, based on most projections, Dallas should be level with this division rival in 2025 if not the superior team. But even with a win over New York, expectedly tougher tests, like the Packers in Week 4, could keep it from becoming a streak.
Ultimately, no matter how it happens, the Cowboys’ return to the postseason is what really matters. But winning at home has historically proven to help, and we saw that from 2022-2023 as home dominance carried Dallas’ overall record. Even last year, bad as it was, they managed to win five road games. Just swinging a few more home games their way could’ve made a big difference in the standings, and that’s what we’re hoping for in 2025.