By virtue of winning Super Bowl LIX, the Philadelphia Eagles will host the first game of the 2025 season in September.
Now, we know precisely who that opponent will be.
The NFL announced Monday morning that the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles will match up to open the 2025 season on Thursday, September 4th.
The NFC East rivalry has become one of the most-watched games in the NFL in recent years. For most of the past decade, the Cowboys and Eagles shared control of the division title. Dallas finished a disappointing 7-10 last season while losing Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott for the latter part of the 2024 campaign.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, breezed through 2024 with a 14-3 record and scored the most points in a playoff en route to their second Super Bowl championship.
It will be the first time since 2000 that the Eagles and Cowboys are opening up a season together. Philadelphia won that game 41-14 and is playfully dubbed the "Pickle Juice" game for the team providing players with pickle juice to combat the high Texas temperatures.
Since 2004, the start of the defending Super Bowl champions opening up the following season with the league's first game, defending champs have gone 15-5. The Kansas City Chiefs won last year's home opener against the Baltimore Ravens in a 27-20 thriller.
As always, the matchup between the Cowboys and Eagles should be among the more exciting games of the weekend - which this schedule announcement recognizes. Dallas has a new head coach in Brian Schottenheimer, while the Eagles have had to say goodbye to many aging veterans on the defensive side of the ball.
Both fan bases will want a victory for their team over a hated rival as the world watches.
At the very least, the NFL has provided a highly entertaining matchup to kick off the 2025 season. ... and maybe something more: A pivot game to determine what happens in the NFC East in 2025.