Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET | Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia | NBC | Eagles by 8 | Series Record: Cowboys lead 71-57 | Last Meeting: Eagles 41, Cowboys 7 (Dec. 29, 2024 in Philadelphia)
The NFL couldn’t have scripted a more dramatic start to the 2025 season. On Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field, the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will raise their championship banner before renewing their fierce rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys in the league’s traditional Opening Night showcase.
The Cowboys made one of the offseason’s most shocking moves just days before Week 1, sending superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons to Green Bay in exchange for three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark. The trade restructured the identity of Dallas’ defense. Parsons departs with 52.5 sacks in just four years, but Clark provides a different kind of anchor — one that could transform the Cowboys’ biggest weakness.
Dallas finished near the bottom of the league in rush defense in 2024. A dominant performance from Clark in the opener would not only help slow down Philadelphia’s powerful run game but also ease the sting of losing one of the NFL’s premier pass rushers.
Philadelphia countered the Cowboys’ splashy offseason move with one of their own in 2024, signing Saquon Barkley away from the rival New York Giants. Barkley rewarded the Eagles with a historic debut season, rushing for 2,005 yards in the regular season and piling up 2,504 yards including playoffs — one of the most prolific years ever by a running back.
The Eagles’ balanced offense already features MVP-caliber quarterback Jalen Hurts and star wideouts A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. With Barkley, the unit is capable of overwhelming defenses on the ground and through the air.
Much of the opener’s intrigue centers on Dak Prescott’s return from a hamstring injury that ended his 2024 season in mid-November. The Cowboys’ franchise quarterback enters just 50 completions shy of surpassing Tony Romo for second place in team history, and Dallas needs him at his best to keep pace with Philadelphia’s high-powered offense.
But Prescott faces an Eagles defense in transition. Philadelphia lost multiple pillars of its Super Bowl-winning unit, including Darius Slay, Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Last season, the Eagles led the NFL in total defense and passing defense, but whether their rebuilt secondary — now led by second-year corners Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell — can replicate that dominance remains a pressing question.
Thursday will mark the 32nd primetime meeting between Dallas and Philadelphia — the most in NFL history between two franchises. The Eagles will unveil their Super Bowl LIX championship banner, though head coach Nick Sirianni said his players will not participate in the ceremony.
Sirianni has built a powerhouse in Philadelphia, going 48-20 in the regular season across four years. Hurts, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, accounted for 32 total touchdowns last year, while Brown and Smith remain one of the NFL’s most dynamic receiving tandems. Defensively, DT Jalen Carter leads the charge up front as the Eagles look to blend young talent with veteran presence.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, boast one of the most dangerous passing duos in the league with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, who have combined for 7,143 receiving yards since 2022. Lamb enters the season with 496 career catches and four straight 1,000-yard seasons. Dallas is historically strong in openers, holding the league’s best record in Week 1 at 41-23-1. Prescott also shines against NFC East opponents, with a career 33-8 mark in divisional play.
Injury News
- Cowboys: CB Trevon Diggs (knee) and LT Tyler Guyton (knee) are trending toward playing, according to head coach Brian Schottenheimer. DT Perrion Winfrey (back) did not practice Tuesday.
- Eagles: Pro Bowl guard Landon Dickerson, who had offseason meniscus surgery, also missed Monday’s practice with a back issue. Backup QB Tanner McKee (thumb) sat out Tuesday.
