The Philadelphia Eagles will kick off their championship defense at home on September 4, facing off against the Dallas Cowboys in a key divisional matchup. This game, which will mark the NFL’s annual regular-season opener, was announced on Monday as part of the league’s series of early game revelations ahead of the full schedule release on Wednesday night.
The Cowboys vs. Eagles game will be held on Thursday night, the first contest in NBC’s package of games, which mostly airs on Sunday nights. NBC also revealed that its streaming platform, Peacock, will exclusively broadcast a Saturday night game during Week 17, on December 27. The matchup for this game will be chosen later based on the playoff race standings.
This marks the first time in 25 years that the Eagles and Cowboys will face off in Week 1. Dallas has traditionally opened the season against the New York Giants, a match-up they’ve had eight times since then.
The game will feature a new head coach for the Cowboys, Brian Schottenheimer, and the anticipated return of quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott missed the second half of last season due to a hamstring injury, which contributed to a 7-10 record and the Cowboys’ first playoff absence since 2020. The Cowboys have won seven consecutive Thursday games, including their Thanksgiving Day home contests.
The NFL has made a Thursday night game the season opener since 2002, generally with the defending Super Bowl champion at home, though there have been a few exceptions. This will be only the fourth time an intra-division game has been selected as the season opener.
Additionally, this game will be the fourth one shown exclusively on Peacock, with NBC also broadcasting it in the markets of the teams involved. Last season, Peacock broadcast the Eagles’ opener against the Green Bay Packers in Brazil, as well as an AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs, and a Week 16 game between the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers.
