2025 schedule: 3 Elite passing teams may face Cowboys with no Diggs, Overshown, Revel

The wait is over, Dallas Cowboys fans. The NFL’s 2025 regular season schedule has been released and the Cowboys have little time to waste with just over two months away from training camp.

As many know by now, the new season starts off with a bang because Dallas is scheduled in the season opener against the rival Philadelphia Eagles. The defending Super Bowl champs will test the Cowboys right out of the gate with zero grace awarded to Dallas’ new coaching staff. Analysis of this Week 1 NFC East matchup has already begun with the Cowboys only owning one clear, albeit conditional, advantage.

Given their own circumstances, the Cowboys were hoping for an easy start to the 2025 campaign. Aside from the new coaching staff hoping to acclimate in Dallas, the Cowboys also have a few pivotal players who may be facing a late start. Cornerback Trevon Diggs, recovering from offseason knee surgery, and star linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, working back from a serious knee injury of his own, could both miss time early in the season.

Diggs could potentially miss the first few games of the season while Overshown could miss as much as the entire first half. There’s optimism Diggs’ recovery could get him back in training camp at some point in time but as it stands today the Cowboys should probably just hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

As if that isn’t difficult enough to overcome, one of the Cowboys’ top draft picks, Shavon Revel, is on a slow recovery timeline himself. He, too, could miss time at the start of the season, further depleting the Cowboys’ CB ranks early in the 2025 season.

With all three players potentially out through the first four weeks of the season, the Cowboys’ defense could be significantly undermanned against the Eagles, Giants, Bears and Packers. Matt Eberflus, Dallas’ new defensive coordinator, will already be facing a tough task trying to elevate the 28th-ranked defense in Year 1, but the absence of these three makes that rebuild all the more difficult. Even if one or two of them can get cleared by the first game, they’ll likely be missing the practice time and reps needed to hit the ground running in the new scheme.

It's safe to say the games played early in the season will look much different than those played late and that has as much to do with familiarity in the scheme as it does with player personnel. With any luck injuries will be more on Dallas’ side in 2025 and week-over-week improvement can be seen.  

The Cowboys' first four weeks of games is a very difficult stretch against three of the NFL's best offenses. Not only will the offense be tasked with keeping up on the scoreboard, but the defense will possibly be doing everything undermanned at some of the most important positions. It's not an exaggeration to say the Eagles, Packers and Bears have some of the NFL deepest and most talented WR rooms in the NFL. The idea Dallas might be without two of their top three CBs when the face them is a tough pill to swallow and difficult hurdle to clear.

With any luck Diggs and Revel will handle their rehab with ferocity and resolve and be medically cleared in time for training camp. It's an "all hands on deck" opening slate of games for the Cowboys because the schedule makers did them no favors.

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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys Diggs, Overshown, Revel may be out vs elite passing teams