Super Bowl champion Eagles will host Cowboys to kick off 2025 NFL season

By Kamila Hinkson, Ben Burrows, Jon Machota and Brooks Kubena

The road to a Super Bowl repeat for the Philadelphia Eagles will begin with a familiar foe: the Dallas Cowboys.

The defending world champions will kick off the 2025 season by hosting their NFC East rivals on Thursday, Sept. 4.

The league made the announcement Monday ahead of the full schedule release Wednesday. The details were revealed on NBC’s “Today” show; NBC and Peacock will broadcast the game.

We'll be waiting all summer for this INCREDIBLE NFL Kickoff showdown. Cowboys. Eagles. Sept. 4. @NBC and @peacock. pic.twitter.com/LXjpEAfDHm — Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) May 12, 2025

The game will likely mark Dak Prescott’s return to the field for the first time since a Week 9 hamstring injury ended his 2024 season.

Philadelphia beat Dallas in both meetings in 2024: a 34-6 victory at AT&T Stadium in November and a 41-7 win at Lincoln Financial Field in December. Prescott missed both games.

In addition to the reveal of the season opener on NBC, a pair of Week 16 rivalry matchups were announced by Fox Sports. The network revealed a Saturday doubleheader on Dec. 20 of that week, with the Washington Commanders hosting the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Bears taking on the visiting Green Bay Packers.

We’re bringing the heat in Week 16 with a can't-miss doubleheader! 🔥🏈 Catch an NFC East clash as the @Eagles take on the @Commanders, followed by an NFC North battle between the @packers and @ChicagoBears! Saturday, December 20th on FOX 📺 pic.twitter.com/R56I4gsHLI — FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) May 12, 2025

The NFL will tease aspects of its schedule over the next two days ahead of a three-hour schedule release special on NFL Network on Wednesday, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

The matchups and dates for each international game will be announced on Tuesday on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.” That includes two regular season games at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (with the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns as the designated teams), and one game each in Berlin (Indianapolis Colts), Madrid (Miami Dolphins), Dublin (Pittsburgh Steelers), São Paulo (Los Angeles Chargers) and at London’s Wembley Stadium (as part of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ multi-year commitment to playing a game in the U.K.).

The 32 NFL clubs know their opponents for the upcoming season, but where the matchups fall on the calendar will come with the schedule announcement.

Super Bowl LX will be played on Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

Playing for ratings?

The Cowboys haven’t done anything recently on the field to deserve playing in such a notable regular season game, but they get eyeballs. When the Cowboys play, they still draw some of the biggest numbers in all of television. Heck of a way for Brian Schottenheimer to begin his head coaching career.

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While the Eagles have clearly been the better franchise recently, the Cowboys have performed well against Philadelphia when their franchise quarterback is healthy. Prescott is 9-4 against the Eagles. Dallas’ players will enjoy this opportunity, not just because it’s a marquee game, but this means the Cowboys won’t have to travel to Philadelphia late in the year and potentially have to deal with bad weather. … Well, unless they meet again in the playoffs. — Jon Machota, Cowboys beat writer

Diving straight into a heated rivalry

As reigning Super Bowl LIX champions, the Eagles carry top billing. It’s tradition for the NFL’s regular season to kickoff with the start of the reigning champ’s title defense. The Eagles aim to continue their success in this game. After winning Super Bowl LII, they opened the 2018 season by beating the Atlanta Falcons 18-12 in a game that required a come-from-behind touchdown in the final minutes. Will Eagles-Cowboys be as competitive or compelling?

The Eagles thrashed the Cowboys in a two-game sweep in 2024 by a combined score of 75-13. Whether or not the Cowboys are significantly more prepared in 2025, the tenacity of this long-standing rivalry will always attract attention. When better for fanbases to talk smack than in Week 1, when nothing is yet certain? — Brooks Kubena, Eagles beat writer

This story will be updated

(Photo of Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)

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