The 2025 NFL regular season will officially begin with the Dallas Cowboys facing the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday at 7:20 p.m.
The prime-time matchup at Lincoln Financial Field features two of the NFC’s most well-known teams, with each team entering the 2025 season with hopes of making their way to the Super Bowl.
Advertisement
Philadelphia is coming off a dominant victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
The Cowboys will begin the season following an eventful offseason highlighted by significant changes to both the coaching staff and roster.
Key returners for the Cowboys include quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who have proven to be one of the most lethal duos in the NFL when both players are healthy.
Meanwhile, the team also added wide receiver George Pickens, running back Javonte Williams, and defensive end Dante Fowler, cornerback Kaiir Elam, and multiple high-level rookies who could potentially contribute in their first NFL season.
Advertisement
Dallas is also entering the season without defensive end Micah Parsons, who was traded to the Green Bay Packers, and cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency.
Dallas will look to perform better in this matchup than the two games against the Eagles last season, in which Philadelphia outscored the Cowboys 75-13.
While the Eagles dominated the matchups last season, the Cowboys will approach this week’s game with an almost fully healthy roster, as several of the team’s starters are expected to return and participate in the game.
Left tackle Tyler Guyton, who suffered a bone fracture during the start of training camp and missed the majority of preseason, was listed as a full participant in practice on the Cowboys’ injury report and is expected to get the start.
Advertisement
Similarly, cornerback Trevon Diggs is expected to be fully healthy for Week 1 following a lengthy recovery process for an offseason knee surgery that included a chondral tissue graft, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Despite the return of two key starters, the Cowboys are still massive underdogs to claim a victory in Week 1.
Currently, the betting lines have the spread for this matchup at Philadelphia -8.5, indicating that many expect the Eagles to have firm control over this matchup, per CBS Sports.
