Thursday Night Football has become one of the premiere nights for NFL games. And, with the schedule already released for the upcoming 2025-26 NFL season, there are some premiere matchups that have fans and NFL bettors drooling over.

The NFL kickoff begins on Thursday, September 4, and it features an NFC East clash as the Dallas Cowboys head to Philly to take on the Super Bowl Champs – Philadelphia Eagles.

Although this game does not officially fall under the Thursday Night Football banner, as the first “official” TNF game is in Week 2 on Amazon Prime, we’re still going to cover it in this blog.

Now, there’s a long way to go before the game is played. So, consider this Thursday Night Football update as a primer for the season.

With that said, continue reading as we discuss the Cowboys vs. Eagles Week 1 matchup, share some upcoming features for this weekly betting preview, and keep you updated on the latest Thursday Night Football odds, schedule and more.

What Channel Is Thursday Night Football On?

• Thursday Night Football Channel: NBC/Peacock
• Thursday Night Football Time: 8:20 p.m. EST
• Thursday Night Football Announcers: Mike Tirico and Chris Collinsworth

As mentioned above, this Week 1 game doesn’t officially fall under the TNF brand that’s streamed live each week on Amazon Prime.

Technically, this Dallas vs. Philadelphia game falls under the Sunday Night Football banner and will air on NBC/Peacock. So, that means our usual SNF announcers of Mike Tirico and Chris Collinsworth will call the first game of the season.

Thursday Night Football Odds

The following Thursday Night Football odds are courtesy of ScoresandStats:

Keep an eye on the latest NFL odds for TNF and monitor how the lines change through the summer and NFL Preseason.

The opening odds for this game see the defending Super Bowl champs Philadelphia Eagles listed as large betting favorites (-310) heading into the 2025-26 NFL season debut.

As of this writing, Philly is a touchdown favorite over the retooled Dallas Cowboys. Oddsmakers also have this game listed at a Total of 46.5 points. So, there should be some scoring, but it’s believed to be heavily slanted towards the Eagles.

Last year, I went 14-5 SU in my Thursday Night Football picks. That’s including the opening game and the three Thanksgiving Day games. In fact, I closed out the season going 6-1 SU, if you include the Thanksgiving games.

In addition to this weekly betting analysis, if you need even more in-depth NFL predictions for the Thursday Night Football games, then check out the best handicapping membership for free. These handicappers crushed last year, and we believe this year will be bigger and better.

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Thursday Night Football Betting Trends

Since a game has yet to be played, we’ll take a quick look at the betting trends for each team as they head into the new season:

Dallas Cowboys Betting Trends

• 4-8 SU in last 12 games
• 14-6 SU in last 20 NFC East games
• 5-2 ATS in last seven games
• 1-4 ATS in last five September games
• Over is 6-2 in last eight games

Philadelphia Eagles Betting Trends

• 6-0 SU in last six games
• 11-0 SU in last 11 home games
• 5-1 ATS in last six games
• 6-1 ATS in last seven NFC East games
• 4-1 ATS in last five NFC games
• Over is 5-1 in last six Week 1 games

Thursday Night Football Matchup

Although we haven’t seen how good either NFL Team is, as of yet, we can explore the history between these two long-time rivals.

These two rivals have played against each other 132 times, and it’s Dallas that leads the series with a 74-58 record.

However, Philly is 5-1 SU in their last six home games versus Dallas. Additionally, the Eagles are 4-2 SU in their last six head-to-head meetings versus the Cowboys. In fact, Philly swept Dallas last year. And, it wasn’t even close. The Eagles outscored the Cowboys 75 to 13.

The Over has hit in seven of the last nine meetings between these two teams. Dallas is 1-5 ATS in their last six trips to Philadelphia.

Thursday Night Football Predictions

Let’s take a look at each participant in this week’s Thursday Night Football game, and make our NFL picks for the TNF winner. Take these early predictions with a grain of salt as a lot can change between now and kickoff.

Dallas Cowboys Thursday Night Football

For Dallas to have any hope in this game, they desperately need their offense to show up. Last year, this team scored just 13 total points against the Eagles.

This starts by protecting Dak Prescott who is returning from injury where he missed most of last year. Additionally, by giving the QB some time, he could take advantage of one of the best receiving duos in the NFL – CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.

Dallas acquired Pickens in an offseason trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He gives Dak and company another weapon in the passing game. Additionally, tight end Jake Ferguson is fully healthy after missing time last year as well.

On the defensive side, Dallas struggled to stop the Eagles offense as they allowed Philly to amass 75 points and over 720 total yards across two meetings.

It remains to be seen if Dallas has done enough on the defensive side of the ball to

Philadelphia Eagles Thursday Night Football

After signing Saquon Barkley last year, and crushing the 2024 NFL Draft, the Eagles became an absolute powerhouse in the NFC. It started off slowly, but the Eagles gained momentum when their star players returned from injury.

Not only did the offense get rolling, but the defense found their groove as well. They finished the season ranked first in points allowed (18.1 ppg), first in yards allowed (288.6 ypg), eight on third down stoppages (36.57%), and 10^th in sack rate (7.53%).

In other words, Philly’s defense became the best in the league by time the postseason came around and it propelled this team to a Super Bowl win.

Offensively, the Eagles were just as dangerous. They finished fifth in scoring (29.0 ppg), eighth in yards (366.0 ypg), third in 4^th down conversions (70.97%) and fifth in TDs per game (3.4).

They leaned heavily on the run, finishing second in the league with 184.1 yards per game and first in rushing attempts per game (36.7). Saquon Barkley had a monster year and was in the running for NFL MVP.

There’s no reason to think that this offense can’t duplicate its success from last year.

Who Is Winning Thursday Night Football?

There’s also no reason to think, at this point in time, that the Dallas Cowboys can beat the Philadelphia Eagles. On the night where they raise their Super Bowl banners, and where the Philly faithful harass Dallas players, the Eagles should win this game.

Cash in on the Over right now as Philly averaged 32.5 ppg versus Dallas last year. I expect the Cowboys to score more than 14 points this season with their new weapons and a healthy Prescott.

Also, I would pass on the spread right now. Wait to see how the summer and preseason goes before considering that wager.

Bet: Philadelphia Eagles (-310), Spread (pass), Over 46.5 points (-110)

Thursday Night Football Prop Bets

As we get closer to game week, this section will feature our top Game and Player Prop Bets for each week’s TNF matchup. Check back in late August when we update this section. If you like weekly NFL prop bets, then check out our best player props of the week from the season’s kickoff all the way through Super Bowl 60.

Best Bets For Thursday Night Football

Check out our best bets for Thursday Night Football:

• Over 46.5 (-110)
• Philadelphia Eagles (-310)

In the future, we’ll have more options for this feature. Yet, based on the opening odds, I really like the Eagles’ moneyline and the Over. Philly is the better team on paper and they absolutely crushed Dallas last year in both meetings. Plus, they’ve gone 5-1 SU in their last six home games against the Cowboys..

Thursday Night Football Schedule

Check out the complete 2025 Thursday Night Football schedule along with our predictions for each week: