Looking at the Cowboys‘ 2025 schedule, Week 2’s matchup against the New York Giants doesn’t exactly leap off the page. Sure, it’s the home opener, and the early-Sunday kickoff will mark the team’s inaugural meeting with rookie linebacker Abdul Carter and their first look at Russell Wilson in a Big Blue uniform.

But the Sept. 14 contest is a landmark game of sorts for the Cowboys. With an all-time record of 569-423-6, they are currently sitting at 998 regular-season contests played. Week 2’s game will be the franchise’s 1,000th.

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While that may seem like a huge number, the Cowboys will actually be the 21st team to get there. Seven of the eight original AFL teams (Patriots, Jets, Chiefs, Broncos, Chargers, Raiders, and Oilers/Titans) already hit 1K with their 2024 season finales, and the Bills are sitting just one behind, at 999 (a result of the “Damar Hamlin game” that was canceled in 2023).

The old-school clubs that helped get the NFL off the ground (Bears, Packers, Cardinals, Giants, Lions, Washington, Eagles, Steelers, Rams, 49ers, Browns, Colts) all got to 1,000 some time ago.

There are 11 NFL franchises (Vikings, Dolphins, Falcons, Saints, Bengals, Seahawks, Buccaneers, Panthers, Jaguars, Ravens, and Texans) who are younger than the Cowboys and therefore trail in total games played.

But in terms of who’s had the most success with the games they’ve played, the Cowboys are, in the infamous words of the Joneses, “hanging around the rim.”

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Their .573 all-time win percentage ranks second across the league and is just one-thousandth of a percentage point behind the Ravens’ .574. (Never mind that the Ravens haven’t even played half as many games since their 1996 debut.) Coincidentally, Dallas holds that same razor-thin edge over Green Bay, who, with their 39-year head start, have amassed a .572 percentage over a whopping 1,452 regular-season games.

It’s not known if the Cowboys will do anything to acknowledge the 1,000th regular-season game in franchise history in Week 2… or if they’re even aware of the coming milestone. It may be little more than a mildly interesting footnote to what the Cowboys really hope will be a big win over their longtime division rivals.

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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Dallas Cowboys will play 1,000th regular-season game in 2025