3 trap games the Cowboys can’t afford to lose

1. Week 5: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys (Oct. 17)

While saying a division game is a trap game is odd, this one is all about context. When the New York Giants come to town in Week 5, Dallas could be riding high with a two-game winning streak over the lowly Philadelphia Eagles and the rebuilding Carolina Panthers. Yes, Dallas will probably only be 2-2 at that point, but a road date up in Foxborough in Week 6 will be looming large.

Though most people would argue the two likeliest teams to win the NFC East next season are the Cowboys and the defending champion Washington Football Team, New York has a great defense and may have an improved offense under second-year coordinator Jason Garrett. However, the former Cowboys head coach will only do as well as his quarterback Daniel Jones will allow him to.

Besides it being a division game, what makes this one intriguing for the Cowboys is a third win in a row could give them all the momentum they need to go into Foxborough the following week and beat Cam Newton’s New England Patriots. They could be on a four-game winning streak heading into the bye. However, New York is probably too good to grossly overlook because of the Patriots.

While the NFC East will be decided in December, the Cowboys will not want to lose a winnable division game at home early in the year and have to work themselves out of a hole. This game may not cost the Cowboys the division on its own, but it will put a ton of pressure to finish the year on a strong note, as well as splitting the season series with a road win over the Giants at MetLife.

Ultimately, Dallas has a fairly navigable schedule. The NFC East is not good, the AFC West and the NFC South have multiple non-playoff teams in them and the Cowboys play a third-place schedule. If the Cowboys can go 4-2 in NFC East play, Dallas has the potential to finish over .500 and win the division going away. However, dropping these three trap games means there will be no playoffs.

Avoiding losses in these three trap games will help the Cowboys on their quest to win the division.