NFL forecast: Do the Cowboys have a shot against the Eagles?

The NFL’s traditional regular-season opener that features the defending Super Bowl champion will be Thursday night when the Philadelphia Eagles begin their quest for a second straight title against the visiting Dallas Cowboys.

On Friday night, the Kansas City Chiefs, losers to the Eagles in last season’s Super Bowl showdown, will take on the Los Angeles Chargers in São Paulo, Brazil, in a battle between AFC West rivals.

Here is a closer look at the games (2024 regular-season records in parentheses):

Thursday

Dallas Cowboys (7-10) at Philadelphia Eagles (14-3), 6:20 p.m.

Eagles -8.5 (47.5 O/U)

On the surface this looks like a mismatch, with Philadelphia one of the heaviest favorites of Week 1’s 16-game schedule. Under the surface it looks like a mismatch, too.

The Eagles are widely viewed as having the league’s best offensive line, which helped RB Saquon Barkley to his 2,005-yard regular season in 2024. And WR A.J. Brown had 1,079 yards, making Philadelphia the first NFL champs since 2016 with a 1,000-yard rusher and receiver.

The Cowboys, under rookie head coach Brian Schottenheimer, made positive headlines earlier this offseason when they acquired Pittsburgh’s top receiver, George Pickens, to team with standout CeeDee Lamb. Plus, QB Dak Prescott is back after missing the final nine games last year with a hamstring tear.

But the trade of standout DE Micah Parsons to Green Bay left heads spinning.

Fun fact: Over the past 40 seasons, the biggest upset victory for a rookie coach in a season opener occurred in 1992 when Bill Cowher’s Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the host Houston Oilers 29-24 as a 13-point underdog.

In summary: The Eagles had their two most lopsided regular-season victories last year going against the Cowboys, winning 34-6 in Dallas and later 41-7 in Philadelphia.

However, in both games Dallas backup QB Cooper Rush was the starter. Prescott went 4-1 against the Eagles from 2021-23, but when he last faced the Eagles he was working with seven-time first-team All-Pro guard Zack Martin and two-time first-team All-Pro tackle Tyron Smith. Not anymore.

Forecast: Eagles 30, Cowboys 16

Kansas City Chiefs (15-2) vs. LA Chargers (11-6), 6 p.m., at São Paulo, Brazil

Chiefs -3 (46.5 O/U)

For the second straight year, the league will hold a Week 1 game Friday in Brazil. This also will be the second time the Chiefs and Chargers will have met south of the border. In 2019, they tangled at midseason in Mexico City, with KC winning 24-17.

Both teams had bad news this summer, with Kansas City learning last week that star WR Rashee Rice will serve a six-game suspension for his role in a multi-vehicle crash in Dallas last year. Further depleting the team’s pass-catching crew is that rookie Jalen Royals will stay home with a knee injury.

KC, however, has top RB Isiah Pacheco back after he incurred a fractured fibula and later a rib injury in 2024. He’ll get to go against a rush defense that allowed 4.7 yards a carry last season, the second worst norm for any of the 14 playoff teams.

For LA, the loss of 2024 Pro Bowl offensive left tackle Rayshawn Slater to a season-ending knee injury is a major hurt. And then throw in the fact RB Najee Harris, acquired from Pittsburgh, missed virtually all of summer drills after suffering an eye injury during a July 4 fireworks mishap.

Fun fact: Teams that have the “Super Bowl hangover” after falling in the title game have gone 6-19 against the spread in their ensuing season opener since 2000. But over the past two years, both Philadelphia and San Francisco have prevailed ATS and straight up.

In summary: Plenty has been written and said how the Chiefs are hungry to make up for last year’s debacle in the Super Bowl when they fell behind 34-0 before losing 40-22.

Surely helping to boost the KC offense is the addition of first-round draft choice Josh Simmons of Ohio State, who has earned the starting job at left tackle.

Forecast: Chiefs 31, Chargers 21

Look for more NFL forecasts in Saturday’s print edition.