The Dallas Cowboys have a lot to do during the bye week. Players can recover, coaches can prepare new plans for upcoming games and the front office can look for possible roster upgrades, but what should Cowboys nation do in a week when Dallas doesn’t have to watch?

It all starts in the split with the current leader, the Washington Commanders. They are coming off a competitive loss to the Baltimore Ravens and the Carolina Panthers are coming to town. This will be their first game and they are expected to be the clear favorites to beat their opponents. However, as has been seen many times in the NFL, underestimating a team can lead to unexpected results. Despite their current standing, Carolina could prove to be a formidable opponent, and it will be interesting to see if Washington can rise to the challenge of complacency.

The Philadelphia Eagles were coming off a bye week and continued to perform below their talent level. They barely survived a home game against the Cleveland Browns. They will play the New York Giants, who they beat to close out the regular season last year, but the Eagles are the team that has Saquon Barkley this time around. At least one division team will be coming off a loss this weekend, which is a positive for Dallas.

After the bye week, the Cowboys face the San Francisco 49ers, so it will be instructive to watch them play the Kansas City Chiefs.

How well do they play? Is there a return from injury or are there new health problems? Will there be a great victory or a disappointing defeat?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are another interesting team to keep an eye on. Baker Mayfield is playing like an MVP candidate, and if they can beat the Ravens, who are on a four-game winning streak, they could be more of a threat than fans might have thought at the start of the season.

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: The Cowboys may not be playing, but there’s still a lot for fans to look forward to