rewrite this title Five ways the Cowboys can shock the Eagles in Week 1

The NFL season kicks off Thursday, with the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Dallas Cowboys at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock. 

The Cowboys are coming off a tumultuous offseason, where they hired rookie head coach Brian Schottenheimer and traded edge-rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. 

Unsurprisingly, “America’s Team” is an underdog heading into its game against the defending Super Bowl champions. As of Wednesday evening, FanDuel Sportsbook lists the Eagles as an 8.5-point favorite. Still, the Cowboys could pull off the upset. Here are five ways they can do so:

1. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott goes off

After Prescott became the league’s highest-paid player ($60M annually) in 2024, he looked underwhelming. The 32-year-old QB went 3-5 in eight starts and posted a below-average 41.9 QBR before suffering a season-ending hamstring injury against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9. 

Thursday’s matchup against the Eagles could be a perfect opportunity for Prescott to get off to a much better start in 2025. He has dominated the NFC East rival throughout his career. Per StatMuse, he’s 9-4 against Philadelphia and has completed 66.8% of his passes for 3,402 yards, 24 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. 

Philadelphia, of course, is a much better team than it’s been in the past, but Prescott still doesn’t fear the Eagles. In February, he suggested there isn’t a gap between Dallas and Philadelphia. Shredding the divisional rival’s defense would help him back up that claim. 

2. Eagles WR A.J. Brown seems rusty

Brown missed a significant chunk of training camp after suffering a hamstring injury in early August.

The Eagles are listing the three-time Pro Bowler as active for Thursday, and he has said he expects to play. After missing so much time, though, Brown could look rusty against a Dallas secondary that features star cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland. Bland may want to earn his money after signing a four-year, $92M deal on Monday.

The Eagles’ passing offense will become much less effective if Brown isn’t rolling. He finished with 67 receptions for 1,079 yards and seven TD catches in 13 games last season. 

3. Cowboys DT Kenny Clark helps stymie the run game

Many Cowboys fans probably wish they had kept Parsons instead of Clark, whom they acquired in the blockbuster trade with Green Bay. But they’ll appreciate him if he helps Dallas solve one of its biggest defensive issues: the inability to stop the run.

Per TeamRankings, the Cowboys ranked 29th in the league in rushing yards (137.1) last season. Dallas owner Jerry Jones has said that Clark gives the team a “better chance to stop the run” than Parsons did. 

That’s debatable, but the point stands: Clark is reliable against the run. The three-time Pro Bowler had a career-high nine stuffs in 17 games last season. (A stuff is a tackle on a running play that results in no gain or negative yards.) The Eagles offense could indeed sputter if he makes star RB Saquon Barkley go backwards a few times. 

4. WR George Pickens looks like Cowboys’ best offseason acquisition 

In May, the Pittsburgh Steelers sent Pickens to the Cowboys. While talented, he wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh because of maturity concerns.

The former Georgia Bulldogs star is entering the final year of his rookie contract, which may force him to be on his best behavior. Pickens doesn’t seem keen on trying to prove anything this upcoming season. 

Regardless, if Pickens and Cowboys four-time Pro Bowl WR CeeDee Lamb jell in Week 1, the Eagles secondary could be in for a challenging night. The former Steeler had 174 receptions for 2,841 yards and 12 TD catches in three seasons with Pittsburgh. 

5. Play-calling changes disrupt Eagles’ offensive flow

One of the few negatives of winning a Super Bowl is that other teams poach your coaching staff. The Eagles lost offensive coordinator Kellen Moore after he became the New Orleans Saints HC in February. 

Philadelphia subsequently promoted Kevin Patullo to replace Moore. He has familiarity with the organization, having served as a pass game coordinator and associate head coach over the past four seasons. However, the 44-year-old assistant will be making his play-calling debut for the Eagles on Thursday. 

In his Monday news conference, the OC failed to clarify how much of the offense has changed this offseason. Whether Patullo has revamped it or not, it wouldn’t be surprising if the unit doesn’t excel in Week 1.