Among the benefits of an annual Thanksgiving Day game, not to mention the national exposure and three-day weekend afterwards, is the chance for the Cowboys to get a jump start on their next opponent.
Not only do they have 10 days before they have to face the Cardinals in Arizona, with four off days among the 10, but they'll also have a fourth practice as compared to Arizona's three.
Whereas sometimes players are off on Monday, or at the most watching film of the previous game, correcting mistakes and running, this week opens with an extra practice.
Having just played St. Louis on Sunday, the Cardinals players won't begin working on the Cowboys in earnest until Wednesday.
"You know the Thanksgiving week can be a struggle for guys," Jason Garrett said. "Because you just played an overtime game in Washington, you travel back and three days later you're on the field again, against Miami. But if you can handle the week, somehow win the game before, somehow figure out a way to win the game on Thanksgiving Day, it can be a real advantage for us.
"We'll come back to work on Monday, and hopefully everybody gets a chance to decompress a little bit, take a breath, get refreshed and ready to go, and we'll get some of our guys back and get going again."
