The NFL has unveiled its 2025 schedule and the anticipation is high as the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles are hosting archrivals, the Dallas Cowboys, in the season opening game for Thursday Night Football.
The prime-time contest is scheduled for Thursday, September 4 at Lincoln Financial Field and is the official kickoff of the NFL’s 105th season, featuring many high-stakes storylines to follow, a star-studded matchup, and the spotlight as part of the NFL’s tailored “Thursday Night Football” broadcast.
A clash of titans: Eagles vs Cowboys
The buildup to the opener is hard. The Eagles are coming off a dominant Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and have reloaded with much of their star-studded roster back—including quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley—to defend their title. They have an immediate task at hand, and that is to face a motivated Dallas team looking to change their narrative after missed playoff opportunities and their own injuries to Dak Prescott from last year.
For Dallas, the offseason came with some bold moves—or at least a bold move in acquiring the wide receiver George Pickens and the hope that Prescott can return to form after nursing a number of injuries last year. “It’s been 30 years since Dallas played in the Super Bowl and knocking off the Eagles to start the year would put an exclamation point on the season,” noted NBC Sports.
This Thursday matchup is also the first time that these two NFC East rivals will meet in week 1 since 2000. Football fans, both Dallas and Philadelphia, are undoubtedly excited about this showdown on the first week of the NFL season.
Prime-time tradition and broadcasting
The Eagles-Cowboys rivalry will be the special Thursday night edition of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” and it will also be streamed on Peacock. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET, and the game will be the first NFL regular-season game since last year’s Super Bowl.
NBC’s Mike Tirico announced the opener on The TODAY Show and commented on the tradition: “It is proper start to the season, that loyal fans have waited for, for two of the NFL’s biggest brands, going at it, in prime time.”
International slate and week 1 highlights
While much of the 2025 schedule is Promising storylines beyond opening night. Some key highlights are:
- The rematch of Super Bowl LVII – Eagles vs. Chiefs in Week 2, including other massive games like Ravens vs. Chiefs in Week 4 and the Chiefs vs. Bills in Week 9.
- For the first time, the league will have a record seven international games, starting with the Chiefs–Chargers in Brazil on Friday, September 5, then games in Ireland, Spain, Germany, and England in subsequent weeks.
- With special holiday line ups, the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys will play on Thanksgiving and Christmas, with triple headers on both days.
NFL’s new overtime and holiday rules
Among the biggest changes for 2025 include new overtime rules that will increase anticipation even further. In addition, the league is adding four Monday Night Football double headers, more Saturday games late in the year and “Black Friday” games – with the Eagles gearing up to take on the Chicago Bears in a post-Thanksgiving game.
Betting lines and early predictions
CBS Sports states the Eagles opened as 7.5-point favorites over the Cowboys, with an over/under of 47.5 total points. Philadelphia looks to continue their stronghold on an unbeaten record against Dallas from last year, while Dallas looks to take advantage of new additions and health to change their fortunes.
The combination of the opener’s timeless rivalry and the global expansion of NFL programming makes for a complete, thrilling, exciting, and innovative 2025 schedule. All eyes are on Lincoln Financial Field on opening night as the Eagles and Cowboys start the latest path of NFL history and the tone for five months of football drama.
