The Eagles are big favourites to win this opening game, and it’s for good reason. In both games against the Cowboys last season, they put up a combined 75 points and gave up just 13. Now, there are caveats to that, most notably that the Cowboys were missing their quarterback, Dak Prescott, but even with him returning to the field, this is a team in disarray. 

Last season, the Cowboys' offensive line was awful and didn’t protect Prescott enough, and the ground game also struggled. There’s been huge turnover at running back this offseason, but it’s not enough to really make a huge difference. Then there’s the fact that the Cowboys are now without Micah Parsons. They’ve lost the best defensive player in the NFL and will struggle to pressure an Eagles’ offence that has dominated on the line in recent years. The Eagles should win this with ease.

Since Hurts' arrival in Philadelphia, he’s been known more for his ability with his legs than his arm. He threw just 3,629 passing yards in 20 regular and postseason games last year, while managing to rush for 824 and score a staggering 19 touchdowns. 

However, we need to factor in that he’s now facing a defense that are missing the best pass rusher in the league in Parsons. They may have improved at defensive tackle with Kenny Clarke going the opposite way in that trade, but there’ll still be a huge decrease in the pressure that the defensive line can put on Hurts, so expect the Eagles to put some faith in his arm and let him air it out as the game begins.

This is very much a continuation of the above reasoning.  With no Parsons on the field, we have to expect that the Eagles will really look to prioritise the passing game. They may have an incredible running game, but attacking the Cowboys through the air will likely be the most productive way to beat them, as well as allowing Hurts and Saquon Barkley the most protection from injury.

While the Eagles were a run-first team last year, it’s worth noting that Hurts still threw two or more touchdown passes in eight of the 20 games that he played last season, including the Week 10 win over the Cowboys, with the quarterback rested when the teams met a second time.

Again, this is very much a bet on the Eagles being able to shred the Cowboys apart now that they’re without Parsons as edge rusher. It wasn’t Browns best season in 2024, missing four games, but he still showed that he’s a big-game player, scoring touchdowns in the NFC Championship Game and against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl itself.

He had over 71.5 receiving yards in nine of 17 games last season, despite it being a down year by his high standards. In his one game against the Cowboys with Hurts at quarterback, he exploded with five catches for 109 yards. Now imagine what he’ll be able to do with the Cowboys’ defence downgraded.

Just because the Eagles will use Hurts’ arm doesn’t mean that the Eagles’ offensive coordinator, Kevin Patullo, will forget about Saquon Barkley. Last season, Barkley showed why he’s the best running back in the NFL, leading he league in rushing yards with 2504 and scoring a total of 20 touchdowns.

He’s a game-breaking player and can be relied upon to carry the rock when the Eagles are in the red zone. Somehow, Barkley didn’t score a touchdown in either game against the Cowboys despite rushing for over 200 yards, something he’ll be looking to make right this time around.