Mike Sielski: The Eagles couldn't have asked for a better opening-night opponent than the Cowboys

Mike Sielski, The Philadelphia Inquirer on May 12, 2025

Published in Football

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PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles could not have asked for a better opening-night opponent than the one they got. They’ll face the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday, Sept. 4, which is enough to make you think that perhaps there was some kind of handshake deal between the NFL and the Eagles that granted them such a favorable matchup.

Roger Goodell: “Quid pro quo, Jeffrey. I ban the Tush Push. You get Brian Schottenheimer in his first game and Dak Prescott coming off hamstring surgery and Dallas coming off a 7-10 season. I give you things. You give me things. Quid pro quo, Jeffrey. Tick tock, tick tock. Poor little Micah Parsons is waiting …”

Consider the alternatives. The Eagles could have opened against the Los Angeles Rams, who came damn close to beating them in last season’s divisional round. If Jalen Carter hadn’t sacked Matthew Stafford on third down and pressured him on fourth down on the Rams’ final possession, that 28-22 Eagles victory might have gone the other way. Now L.A. has Stafford back (after some contract-related negotiating) and an excellent young defense and is one of the chic picks to win the NFC this season.

The Eagles could have opened against the Detroit Lions, the team that everyone wanted and expected to see in the NFC championship game. The Lions were the darlings of the NFL for most of 2024, and rightfully so. They were 15-2 during the regular season. They have a risk-taking, knee-biting, heart-spilling head coach in Dan Campbell. They have never appeared in, let alone won, a Super Bowl. They were supposed to end a whole lot of misery for a town and fan base that have lived through more than their share of misery. Yet the Lions had lost so many key players to injury and their quarterback, Jared Goff, played so poorly in the divisional round that the Washington Commanders knocked them out of the playoffs. Having them play the Eagles in Week 1 would have been the ultimate what-might-have-been matchup.

The Eagles could have opened against the Commanders, whom they trounced, 55-23, in the actual NFC championship game (as opposed to the one everyone hoped to see). This one would have been fun, and it will be fun when the teams meet later in the season.

Entering just his second season, Jayden Daniels is already one of the league’s best quarterbacks, and he was the only reason to think Washington had a chance of beating the Eagles in that NFC title game. But the Commanders improved, using the offseason to add wideout/tailback hybrid Deebo Samuel, left tackle Laremy Tunsil and defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw. Plus, the rivalry is spicier than it’s been in a while, thanks to Washington’s trolling-like methods of trying to stop the Eagles’ Tush Push in the NFC title game. There’s some bad blood between the teams now, and that’s a good thing.

Any of these teams would have presented a stiffer challenge to the Eagles than the one the Cowboys likely will. Dallas delivers all the ancillary benefits of an opening-night opponent for the Eagles — a marquee franchise, plenty of big-name players, Jerry Jones and his Succession-ish stewardship of the team — and few of the risks.

Yes, the Cowboys traded for George Pickens to pair him with CeeDee Lamb, and it’s possible that they found a player or two in this year’s draft who could help them immediately, and Prescott’s presence could and arguably should make a positive difference. That all sounds encouraging for the Cowboys in the abstract, in a best-of-all-outcomes scenario.

The reality isn’t so sunny. Dallas was better without Prescott last season (4-5) than with him (3-5). Trevon Diggs, Dallas’ star cornerback, won’t play on Sept. 4. He will still be recovering from the chondral tissue graft procedure he underwent in January. (In layman’s terms, Diggs had to have damaged knee cartilage removed and replaced with healthy cartilage; it’s a rough surgery to recover from.) And over their two victories against the Cowboys last season, the Eagles outscored them by a combined 62 points. The notion that Pickens, one or more of the Cowboys’ draft picks, and Prescott are enough to narrow that gap seems far-fetched at best.

No, the scenario that’s easier to envision is this: Lincoln Financial Field and its surrounding parking lots will be packed with people eager to re-celebrate the Eagles’ Super Bowl win. That they will have the opportunity to rub that result in the (botoxed) face of the Cowboys — the team that, even though it’s coming up on 30 years since its last championship, is still the one that Eagles fans most love to hate — will charge them up even more.

For an NFL opening night featuring a game that promises to be this one-sided, the Linc … oh, it’ll be a scene. Someone should remember to bring the fava beans and a nice Chianti.

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