Cowboys vs Eagles Kickoff Game Preview
Cowboys vs. Eagles — The defending champions kick off the season on Thursday Night. The Cowboys are getting some reinforcements back from an injury-riddled last season, but despite those returns, they lost the best player on their roster, Parsons, who was traded to Green Bay last week. The Eagles return almost all their game-changers and difference-makers from last season and drafted one of the best safeties in the draft, Mukuba out of Texas. Like most games, this one will be won in the trenches. The Cowboys needed significant improvement on their line last season; they did get bigger, which should help their run game with Solomon Thomas, Kenny Clark, and Dante Fowler Jr. contributing, but they sacrificed some pass rush in the process.
For the Eagles to win, they can’t become a one-dimensional team relying solely on RPOs against good defenses every week. Expecting their ball handlers to stay healthy through 17 games plus playoffs is optimistic. They need to involve their receivers early. AJ Brown is coming off a hamstring injury, so how he looks in live action will be telling. I’d recommend working the screen game early and often because the Cowboys will be expecting the run. The Eagles could have made more of a move to add a slot guy, but we’ll see if Dotson steps up this season.
For the Cowboys to pull off the upset, their new front-line additions need to make an impact immediately. They’re solid in the secondary, adding former USC star Adoree' Jackson on a one-year deal to bolster the secondary. If Dak Prescott looks anything like his pre-injury form, we could have a really exciting game. His No. 2 receiver is a player who would be a No. 1 on many teams in the league. The Cowboys also have history on their side—no NFC East team has repeated as division champions since 2004. The last team to win back-to-back NFC East titles was the Eagles.
I expect this game to be high-scoring, with the Eagles pulling away late. Dak might look a little rusty, but the roster additions should help ease him into the season. I predict a final score of 35–24 Eagles.
Best Bets
George Pickens Longest Reception over 22.5 yards -115
Miles Sanders Anytime Touchdown +900
