The NFL season kicks off with a massive NFC East rivalry as the defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, host the Dallas Cowboys.
Coming into this game as the Super Bowl champions, the Eagles get to raise their brand-new banners in front of their rivals. They swept the Cowboys in the previous season and are riding an 11-game home winning streak. And their offense is largely intact, with Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley returning. Barkley had a stellar 2024 season, rushing for over 2,000 yards and claiming the offensive player of the year award.
The Cowboys are a bit of a question mark heading into this season. While they get a healthy Dak Prescott back, their defence is now without star player Micah Parsons – who has been traded to the Green Bay Packers in a blockbuster deal that raised eyebrows in Dallas.
The Cowboys' offense struggled without Prescott last season and their running game was particularly weak, ranking near the bottom of the league – it looks like they’ve done very little to improve this, leading to what could be a difficult season for first time head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
The big return for the Cowboys is Prescott, who at his peak is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL – look back to his 2023 season where he finished second in MVP voting.
His chemistry with star wide receiver CEEDEE LAMB is clear to see, where in that 2023 season he posted 1,749 receiving yards.
This game is going to be an uphill battle for the Cowboys in a hostile environment. They’re likely to be trailing and forced into a pass-heavy attack, and the addition of George Pickens is great news for Lamb.
This is the first time in the WR’s career that he has another real threat lining up alongside him, helping to draw coverage elsewhere. Lamb will see a bounty of targets and is value to go over the century mark.
His over/under line is somewhere around 75 for the more cautious, but several firms offer bigger than 2/1 about over 100 or something around that mark, and it looks great value.
JALEN HURTS silenced his doubters with his performance in the Super Bowl, as he dominated as a passer and a rusher – he is up there with the very best.
Last season he picked up 630 rushing yards through 15 regular-season games (42 yards/game) alongside a huge 14 touchdowns. The price for a touchdown is far from generous, so I’m targeting his rushing total.
His season average is above the 34.5-yard threshold (the specific figure varies between bookmakers, so shop around), and in his last game against Dallas he scrambled for 56 yards. Saquon Barkley erupted last time these sides met, but prior to that it has been a bogey team for him – as he averages just 67 yards per game.
There are a lot of new parts on defence for the Cowboys and their linebackers particularly look shaky. Hurts can move the chains with his legs, and soar past the over.
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