It was last May 15 when the NFL announced its full schedule for all 32 teams. It was five weeks before that when the Eagles knew they would open the season in Sao Paulo, Brazil, against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 6, a rare Friday night NFL game.
They also know when they will begin this season. As champions of Super Bowl LIX, they have earned the right to kick off the new season with a primetime Thursday night game on Sept. 4, leading into a weekend slate of games.
The game will be at Lincoln Financial Field. The opponent, however, won’t be revealed for a while.
The last time the Eagles came out of a Super Bowl championship, when they beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, they opened the NFL season against the Atlanta Falcons, who took them to the wire in the Divisional Round of the playoffs during their march to the Lombardi Trophy.
Jalen Mills had to break up a pass intended for Julio Jones in the end zone in the final minute of the game to secure a 15-10 win in that playoff victory. A rematch to begin the next season seemed right, and so it was. The Eagles won the rematch the next year, 18-12.
There are two potential playoff rematches the NFL could arrange for this year’s opener: The Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Rams.
It’s unlikely it would be Washington since that is an NFC East game, and the league likes to save those division matchups until later in the season. That would also rule out the other two division opponents – Cowboys and Giants.
My odds-on favorites to be the season-opening opponent:
Rams (5/1). Like the Falcons game in the 2017 postseason, L.A. gave the Eagles all they could handle and, if not for a third-down sack by Jalen Carter in the final minute, along with pressure from Carter on the final fourth-down throw on the ensuing play, L.A. would have probably won.
The Rams might even have Aaron Rodgers playing quarterback if things cannot be worked out with Matthew Stafford. Rodgers would add another layer of intrigue, but the 28-22 game the two teams played in the Divisional Round would be reason enough to schedule the Rams.
Broncos (8/1). Denver was a playoff team and quarterback Bo Nix had a strong rookie season.
Lions (10/1). Detroit was denied the chance to host Philly in the NFC Championship Game after losing to the Commanders in the Divisional Round. The Lions chances are hindered a bit because they were the Chiefs’ opponent in the 2023 season opener after Kansas City won the first of its two straight Super Bowls.
Bears (25/1). Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams and new head coach Ben Johnson might grab some eyeballs.
Raiders (40/1). Las Vegas is far from ready for a stage like this.
