Eagles will open 2025 season at home vs. Cowboys with a Thursday night game

Olivia Reiner, The Philadelphia Inquirer on May 12, 2025

Published in Football

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PHILADELPHIA — The Super Bowl champion Eagles are set to kick off the 2025 NFL season with a Thursday night matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

The division rivals will meet at Lincoln Financial Field on Sept. 4 at 8:20 p.m. ET, marking the first season opener between the teams since 2000.

Mike Tirico made the announcement Monday morning on the "Today Show" as the NFL’s broadcast partners reveal select games on the schedule ahead of the release of the full slate of games on Wednesday.

The Eagles own a flawless record in season-opening games under Nick Sirianni, winning all four Week 1 contests, including last season’s opener against the Green Bay Packers in São Paulo, Brazil. They’ve found recent success against the Cowboys, too, coming out on top in four of their last six matchups.

Two of those wins came last season when the Eagles swept Dallas for the first time since 2011. They throttled the Cowboys in both games, 34-6 in Week 10 and 41-7 in Week 17 for a point differential of plus-62.

The Eagles did not face Dak Prescott in either game, as the franchise quarterback had suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9. In April, Prescott said that if he had to play a game, he “definitely could.” He added that he expects to be able to participate in the Cowboys’ organized team activities in some capacity this month.

Prescott has a 9-4 record against the Eagles in his nine-year career with the Cowboys. Three of those wins and three of those losses have occurred at the Linc. However, Prescott and Jalen Hurts have gone head-to-head only three times. Prescott has a 2-1 edge, winning twice at home and losing once in Philadelphia.

After missing the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, the Cowboys did not renew Mike McCarthy’s contract and promoted Brian Schottenheimer from defensive coordinator to head coach. The team also hired former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus to fill the defensive coordinator vacancy.

Jerry Jones has made a handful of tweaks to the Cowboys roster this offseason, most recently acquiring wide receiver George Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers. They were relatively quiet on the free-agent market. The biggest splash the Cowboys made was re-signing defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to a four-year, $80 million contract.

They lost two of the longest-tenured players on their team, as guard Zack Martin retired and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence departed in free agency for the Seattle Seahawks.

In the draft, the Cowboys added Alabama guard Tyler Booker, a former teammate of Jihaad Campbell, with the No. 12 overall pick. They also selected Williamstown, N.J., native Donovan Ezeiruaku, a Boston College edge rusher, in the second round with the 44th overall pick.

The Cowboys signed a couple of former Eagles players to one-year deals, including running back Miles Sanders and wide receiver Parris Campbell.

Defending Super Bowl champions have a recent history of success in season-opening games. According to ESPN, 20 of those teams have played in season openers, boasting a record of 15-5. The Eagles are among the winners, defeating the Atlanta Falcons, 18-12, in the 2018 opener.

While the Eagles’ full schedule will be released on Wednesday, their opponents have been set since last season’s conclusion. In addition to their divisional opponents, the Eagles will face the Chicago Bears, the Detroit Lions, the Denver Broncos, the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Rams at home.

On the road, the Eagles will visit the Packers, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Minnesota Vikings, the Buffalo Bills and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Eagles have the fourth most difficult strength of schedule, based on the 2024 winning percentage (.561) of their opponents.

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