FRISCO, Texas — The NFL announced its five-game international schedule on Wednesday morning, and as expected the Cowboys will not get an opportunity to head to Europe despite there being a small chance of it occurring in 2023.
While Buffalo had an extra home game built into its schedule in 2023 that was expected to be used for a European site along with the Cowboys being on the schedule to play at the Bills, the only opportunity that Dallas had to head across the pond would have been for that game, but the NFL instead scheduled the Jacksonville Jaguars to play against Josh Allen's squad at Tottenham Stadium in London in week five.
The Cowboys have not played in an international game since 2014 when they made the trip to London and defeated the Jaguars behind a 158-yard, 2-touchdown performance from Dez Bryant. That has been the only regular-season game that Dallas has played outside of the United States in franchise history. The Cowboys' 10-year drought of having an international game is the second-longest in the NFL behind Pittsburgh's 11-year hiatus.
When it comes to a potential international game moving forward, the 2024 schedule looks a little more promising with the Cowboys slated to have nine home games next season and Estadio Azteca in Mexico City expected to be renovated in time to host NFL games after taking a one-year break in 2023.
In Jan. 2022, the NFL announced the International Home Marketing Areas Initiative where 18 NFL teams were selected to freely market their team across eight countries for a five-year period, including the Cowboys in Mexico. Of the eight other teams that were also selected to freely market in Mexico, the Houston Texans are the only team that Dallas could possibly have as an away opponent in 2024. However, that does not rule out the possibility of any other away opponent being selected for a potential game.
The entirety of the 2023 NFL schedule will be released on Thursday, May 11 at 7:00 p.m. CST on NFL Network, with select games being announced on Wednesday leading into the official release.
