In the first NFL regular season game of the 2025 campaign, the Dallas Cowboys will travel to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on the opening Thursday night of the season, Sept. 4. The game was announced by NBC, the broadcasting partner for the game, on the network’s Today Show on Monday morning.
It will be the official start of the Brian Schottenheimer era for the Cowboys after he was hired as the new head coach in January to replace Mike McCarthy, who the team parted ways with after five seasons this past offseason. It will be Schottenheimer’s first career game as a head coach in the NFL after over 25 years of experience as an offensive assistant.
Dallas is no stranger to the primetime slot, and it won’t be the first time the franchise has been in the spotlight to open the season. A game that has become tradition for the NFL to have the defending Super Bowl champions host a home game and raise their banner, the Cowboys have twice been the visitor since the annual game started in 2002.
In 2012, the Cowboys defeated the Eli Manning-led New York Giants, 24-17, at MetLife Stadium. Nine years later, quarterback Dak Prescott made his return from a gruesome broken ankle injury he suffered the year prior to throw for 403 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-29 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For the Eagles, it will be the second time that the franchise has hosted the annual kickoff game after defeating the Atlanta Falcons in 2018, 18-12, one year after winning its first Super Bowl in team history.
New faces will be featured for both teams in the NFC East rivalry, as the Cowboys will debut newly acquired wide receiver George Pickens along with its fair share of draft picks such as offensive lineman Tyler Booker and running back Jaydon Blue. The Eagles will debut their newest draft picks in linebacker Jihaad Campbell and safety Andrew Mukuba.
In the 65-year history of the Cowboys and Eagles playing twice a season as divisional foes, the opener in 2025 will serve as just the second time in 132 games that the two teams will face off to start the year. In 2000, the Eagles defeated the Cowboys 41-14 to kick off the season at Texas Stadium.
The rest of the NFL schedule will be released as the week goes on with NBC, Prime Video and FOX releasing marquee games on Monday, ESPN releasing marquee games on Tuesday and CBS and Netflix releasing marquee games on Wednesday. The full NFL schedule will release on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. CST on ESPN2 and NFL Network.