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IRVING, Texas - The 2008 regular season has ended, and while the Cowboys will spend a good long while looking at what went wrong and how to fix it, there is at least something to look forward to, the 2009 schedule.
Under the NFL's scheduling formula, which was implemented with the 2002 realignment, all 32 teams are guaranteed to play each other on a regular, rotating basis.
Every team is scheduled to play all the other teams at least once every four years, playing road games in each city at least once every eight years. And the Cowboys already know who their 16 opponents will be for the 2009 season.
So in 2009 the Cowboys, playing their normal six-game NFC home-and-away schedule with the NFC East members, will also play each member of the NFC South and AFC West divisions.
By virtue of a third-place finish in the East, they are also slated for matchups against the third-place team in the NFC North (Green Bay) and the NFC West (Seattle).
This means the Cowboys will visit Washington, the New York Giants, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Denver, Kansas City and Green Bay.
The team will open its new stadium in Arlington, Texas, next season. In its inaugural season, the $1.2 billion venue will play host to the Cowboys' three division rivals, as well as Atlanta, Carolina, Seattle, Oakland and San Diego.
The Cowboys haven't played host to Oakland since 1998 and San Diego since 2001. Carolina and Atlanta last visited the Cowboys in 2003. The Cowboys haven't played a regular-season game at Denver or Kansas City since 1998.
And since this year's Thanksgiving Day game is scheduled to be televised by CBS, that means the Cowboys' opponent will be an AFC team, either San Diego or Oakland - the only two AFC teams they play at the new stadium.
Romo Beaten Down
Tony Romo suffered rib cartilage damage in the second half of Sunday's blowout at the hands of the Eagles, just adding to what was already a bad day for the quarterback. This was the third straight December Romo has lost ugly to Philadelphia.
Romo was sacked three times and hit hard several more, throwing an interception and losing two fumbles in the process. He has played through pain for much of the season, first missing three games with a fractured pinkie finger suffered in October, then injuring his back against New York two weeks ago.
The pain Sunday caused Romo to topple over in the shower after the game. He winced while sipping cola during his postgame press conference, and needed to be helped off a short stage following the interview session. Team officials had to carry his bags for him as the team boarded the buses to leave the stadium.
"I'm not sure exactly what you call it - like a separated cartilage," coach Wade Phillips said Monday. "It pops in and out. It did twice during the game, I guess, and then in the shower, which causes pain."
Zach Clarifies
Linebacker Zach Thomas, scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the season, indicated after Sunday's loss he might have played his last game with the Cowboys after trying a new position in Wade Phillips' 3-4 defense.
But Thomas, 35, said Monday he fully intends to play the 2009 season and didn't rule out returning to Dallas.
"We'll see," Thomas said. "I hope so with the guys we've got. I'm going to weigh my options this off-season and take a look at that. I think I said a few things after the game, just emotional. We just got a whooping.
"I'm still enjoying the game. I'm healthy. I didn't like the way it ended, but there's still another year."
Thomas' initial four-year contract voided to one year because he met specific playing-time incentives. He started all 16 games at the weak inside linebacker position and had a team-credited 164 tackles entering Sunday's finale.
- Rob Phillips
Hurting Safeties
Starting strong safety Keith Davis wouldn't have played this week had the Cowboys advanced into the postseason.
Davis, wearing a protective boot and crutches Monday, said he suffered a high ankle sprain in the first quarter against the Eagles. Davis said tests showed no ligament damage and he expects to wear the boot for four weeks. He played through numerous injuries all season, including a third-degree MCL sprain in the team's final three games.
Also, backup safety Pat Watkins said he had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Watkins missed a total of seven games with recurring neck stinger and shoulder problems that landed him on injured reserve Nov. 29. He said his neck issues require only rest, but the recovery time for his shoulder surgery is about two to three months.
- Rob Phillips
Short Shots
The Cowboys spent Monday cleaning out their lockers and taking exit physicals. They did not meet as a team . . . The 2010 Pro Bowl will be played the week before the Super Bowl, according to The Associated Press, instead of traditionally the week after the Super Bowl . . . Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips talked at length about the team needing to cut down on turnovers, knowing the Cowboys finished with 33, second most in the NFL to only San Francisco's 35, and with a minus-11 turnover differential, ranking them 30th, ahead of Denver and San Francisco, tied for last with minus-17.
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Josh Ellis - 
