September 01, 2025
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott haven't faced each other often during the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry, but they will Thursday night.
The countdown to that first game of the NFL season is down to just days, with all eyes on the Eagles.
Soon enough, the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles will take the field in front of what will be an electric Lincoln Financial Field crowd, with everyone looking to go on the run of a lifetime all over again.
Repeating in 2025 certainly won't be easy, though, and the first to stand in the Eagles' way is the rival Dallas Cowboys, with star QB Dak Prescott healthy and back under center again.
Will the Birds begin their attempt at a repeat on the right foot?
Here's the PV staff's picks for Week 1...
TV: NBC/Peacock (Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark)
RADIO: 94.1 WIP (Merrill Reese, Mike Quick, Devan Kaney)
| Sportsbook | Spread | Money Line | Total O/U |
| DraftKings | PHI -7.5 | DAL +310 PHI -395 | 47.5 |
| FanDuel | PHI -7.5 | DAL +315 PHI -400 | 47.5 |
| BetRivers | PHI -7.5 | DAL +310 PHI -435 | 47 |
| BetMGM | PHI -7.5 | DAL +300 PHI -375 | 47.5 |
| ESPN BET | PHI -7 | DAL +250 PHI -300 | 46.5 |
*Lines as of Monday, Sept. 1
The Eagles tend to start the season slowly, even if they have a 4-0 record Week 1 under Nick Sirianni. But they are just a far better team, and I can't imagine morale is super high at the moment in that Dallas locker room.
Dallas just strikes me as a total dumpster fire right now. I can’t believe the Micah Parsons trade. I still can’t get over it. Quinyon Mitchell against CeeDee Lamb is a matchup I’m intrigued by, but besides that I think the Eagles are the better team across the board. It’s a dream scenario for week 1.
It feels like the NFL needed to make this a Week 1 game for the best chance of Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott to start for their respective teams, which rarely happens when the Eagles and Cowboys meet. Prescott is 9-4 against the Eagles, with 24 TD passes and a 100.6 passer rating. He's been very good against NFC East teams in his career, and now he's got another weapon in George Pickens to complement CeeDee Lamb. He's also going against an Eagles defense that is replacing starters at about half its positions.
This game has the feel of a shootout, but the Eagles' offense is superior to the Dallas offense and the Dallas defense hasn't stopped the run since the turn of the century, so a high-scoring game would favor the defending Super Bowl champions. Also, Nick Sirianni doesn't lose season openers.
Originally, I was banking on a slow and probably frustrating to watch first half, mostly stemming from Nick Sirianni's continued commitment toward not playing starters in the preseason.
I was expecting rust, and at least a strong enough game plan from Dallas to keep the Eagles out of sorts for maybe a quarter or two until Philly would put together a rally and pull away.
But then the Cowboys went and traded Micah Parsons just days before the season's start. That's just a total killer for Dallas, that I think ruins their Week 1 and their 2025 in general.
So now I see the Eagles picking what's left of the Cowboys' defense apart and running away with it. Dak Prescott with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens won't be anywhere near enough to compensate for it.
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