IRVING, Texas – For the seventh time in the last 11 seasons, the Cowboys will open the preseason schedule out on the West Coast.
The Cowboys' four preseason opponents were announced on Thursday, including a Week 1 visit to San Diego to open the exhibition schedule.
The actual dates and times of the dates have yet to be finalized, but the four weekends of the games were revealed. However, the Cowboys' preseason finale against Houston will likely be Thursday night on Sept. 3 at AT&T Stadium.
In between the opener against the Chargers, and the final game with the Texans, the Cowboys travel to San Francisco for their second preseason game. It will be the team's first game at the new Levi's Stadium, which opened just last year and will host Super Bowl 50.
The two straight road games to open the preseason likely means the Cowboys will have an extended stay at training camp, with the possibility of staying in Oxnard, Calif. for an entire month.
If the Cowboys stay four weeks in Oxnard, they will likely break camp on Friday, Aug. 28 and return home for the third preseason game against the Vikings at home.
Currently, All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson is on Minnesota's roster but has reportedly asked for a trade. The Cowboys are one of the teams that could be a destination for the star tailback if he switches teams.
Since Jason Garrett took over as the full-time head coach in 2011, the Cowboys have gone 7-10 in preseason games, including an 0-4 record last year. However, it was just the second time since Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989 that a Cowboys team had the same amount of losses in the regular season as the preseason, as the club went 12-4 in the regular season. The Super Bowl winning 1992 squad also went 2-3 in the preseason before a 13-3 record.
The entire regular-season schedule usually comes out within two weeks of the preseason schedule, so look for the NFL to be announcing the full 17-week lineup later this month.
