NFL season opener: Why league picked Cowboys to play Eagles in Week 1
The 2025 NFL schedule will be released in full on Wednesday, but per usual, the league is revealing some of its prominent matchups ahead of time.
That includes the NFL season opener. The league permitted NBC's "TODAY" show to announce the matchup for the Week 1 game, which will be broadcast on Thursday, Sept. 4 as part of NBC's "Sunday Night Football" package.
It was widely presumed the Philadelphia Eagles would host the season's first game. Since 2004, the NFL's season opener has featured the reigning Super Bowl champions 20 times. The only exception was in 2018 when the league chose to kick off its 100th season with a game between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, the NFL's most-played rivalry.
The Eagles were, in fact, tapped to host the first game of the 2025 NFL season. They will be playing against one of their long-time rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, as they look to begin their title defense.
But why were the Cowboys chosen for the NFL's kickoff game? Here's a full breakdown of the NFL's season opener, including an early prediction for the game.
Why NFL picked Eagles vs. Cowboys
The Cowboys were chosen to play the Eagles for a few reasons. Chief among them is Dallas' viewership draw.
The Cowboys are one of the NFL's most popular teams and had the second-highest national TV viewership in 2024, per Sportico. This came despite a disappointing 7-10 season, during which Dallas lost its starting quarterback Dak Prescott to a season-ending hamstring injury.
Comparatively, the only team to outdraw the Cowboys was the Detroit Lions, who finished the campaign with an NFL-best 15-2 record.
While the NFL is counting on Dallas' popularity as the main factor in boosting ratings for the game, the Cowboys also have a few intriguing storylines to watch as they open the season.
Notably, Brian Schottenheimer will get his first chance to prove himself as an NFL coach as he takes over for Mike McCarthy. Schottenheimer was not on the radar of many as a potential coaching candidate going into the 2025 offseason, so he will quickly get a chance to prove right Jerry Jones' decision to promote him.
Prescott's return will also be of interest to fans after he posted a career-worst passer rating (86) before suffering his season-ending injury. He will look to improve upon his performance and return to his 2023 form, a season during which he finished as the MVP runner-up behind only Lamar Jackson.
Prescott has a new stable of weapons at his disposal as well. The Cowboys traded for George Pickens to be their No. 2 receiver, so fans should be eager to see whether that deal pays dividends for Dallas.
Additionally, the team has completely revamped its running game, with Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah all joining the backfield. Deuce Vaughn is the lone holdover running back, so the pecking order in Dallas' backfield will be worth monitoring in Week 1.
Add in that Dallas is one of Philadelphia's top rivals and it's not a major surprise the Cowboys were chosen for a marquee schedule slot early in the NFL season.
Eagles vs. Cowboys Week 1 prediction
- Eagles 24, Cowboys 20
The Eagles seem likely to hold an advantage over the Cowboys in the NFL season opener. The reigning Super Bowl champions have a 15-5 record in the NFL Kickoff Game dating back to 2004, and Philadelphia will get home-field advantage for the contest.
That said, the Eagles may not win in blowout fashion. They are navigating some key changes to their roster, especially on defense. Philadelphia two key pieces on its defensive line, Milton Williams and Josh Sweat, in free agency. The Eagles also released veteran cornerback Darius Slay and traded star safety CJ Gardner-Johnson. Replacing those departed talents will require several players to step up in new roles.
Howie Roseman has done a good job replenishing the Eagles' talent, but it may take time for the replacements to get comfortable. That could allow Dallas to hang around in this contest.
Still, Dallas has issues of its own. Prescott will likely be shaking off some rust in Week 1 while Pickens may just be getting in rhythm with his new quarterback. That should allow the Eagles to emerge victoriously, especially if Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley can remain consistent as part of an offense returning 10 of 11 starters from last season.