The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles are hosting the Cowboys on Thursday night. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Philadelphia is favored by 8.5 points and this game carries a total of 47.5 points.
Below, I break down this matchup between the Eagles and the Cowboys and give a pick for the game.
Eagles vs. Cowboys prediction
After winning the Super Bowl in dominating fashion, the Eagles are poised to be Super Bowl contenders again in 2025-26. At +700 on DraftKings Sportsbook, the team carries the third-best odds to win the Super Bowl. Between the regular season and playoffs last season, Philadelphia finished 18-3 with an outstanding 10.9-point margin of victory. In the playoffs, the Eagles were especially dominant, winning three of four games by double-digits, including a 33-point win over the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game and then, an 18-point beatdown of the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
The Eagles were a complete team that flourished on both sides of the ball, ranking fifth in PPG (29) and first in PPG allowed (18.1). With Vic Fangio remaining the team’s defensive coordinator, Philadelphia should continue to be one of the best defenses in the NFL this season and while offensive coordinator Kellen Moore departed for the Saints this offseason, the Eagles figure to be a pretty similar-styled offense with last year’s passing game coordinator and associate head coach Kevin Patullo being promoted to offensive coordinator.
Philadelphia relied on its running game last season, ranking second in rushing yards per game (184.1), thanks to an incredible season from Saquon Barkley, who nearly broke Eric Dickerson’s rushing yard record in the regular season. The Eagles should continue to feed Barkley a huge volume this season and he and Philadelphia’s elite work on the ground is going to be a huge problem for the Cowboys in Week 1, as Dallas gave up the fifth-most yards per rush last season (4.9) and the team just controversially traded away superstar defensive end Micah Parsons to the Packers this past week.
The Cowboys finished last season 7-10 and while Dak Prescott is healthy again, Dallas is likely in store for another disappointing campaign – the team carries the 21st-best odds to win the Super Bowl on DraftKings Sportsbook at +7000. The Cowboys’ defense is expected to be a soft unit under new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus following the Parsons trade and while Dallas should be an effective passing offense with Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens at the helm, the Cowboys’ running game likely will be one of the worst in the league, with disappointing veteran Javonte Williams as the starter and veteran Miles Sanders and rookie Jaydon Blue behind Williams. Dallas’ best chance of winning games this season is via huge passing showings from Prescott, but this matchup vs. the Eagles is the worst possible spot for the quarterback, as Philadelphia’s league-best defense yielded the fewest yards per pass attempt in the NFL last season (5.6).
Eagles vs. Cowboys pick, best bet
After raising a Super Bowl banner in front of the Philadelphia faithful, the Eagles should get right back to business and easily defeat the division rivaled Cowboys on Thursday Night Football. Last season, Philadelphia was 10-1 at home with an 11.5-point margin of victory.
The Cowboys should struggle mightily in this brutal road matchup and the defending champion Eagles should cover this 8.5-point spread. Last season, Philadelphia was a league-best 14-7 ATS.
