Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Consider this a friendly reminder to set your fantasy lineups before tonight.
In today’s SI:AM:
🏈 Week 1 preview
🧀 Parsons trade bucks Packers tradition
🏀 Latest on Kawhi scandal
Week 1 is here
We’re hours away from the official start of the NFL season and, as is tradition, we’ll get things started with the defending Super Bowl champions taking a victory lap at home.
This year that honor belongs to the Eagles, who, after smashing the Chiefs to win their second title in eight years, will begin their quest to repeat tonight in Philadelphia against the Cowboys (8:20 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock).
After a ho-hum 2–2 start to the season last year, the Eagles reeled off 12 wins in their final 13 regular-season games and then faced little resistance in the playoffs en route to avenging their Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs two years earlier. Saquon Barkley became just the second player in the past decade to accumulate more than 2,000 rushing yards in a season. Jalen Hurts cut down on the interceptions that plagued him a year earlier. The defense went from one of the worst in 2023 (ranked 30th in points allowed) to one of the best (second).
With the majority of last year’s core returning, it’s no surprise that the Eagles are among the favorites to win the championship again. Just don’t say they’re trying to “repeat.”
From the beginning of training camp, the Eagles have refused to use the word “repeat”, Dan Gelston of the Associated Press wrote in July.
“We’re not defending nothing,” offensive lineman Jordan Mailata said at the time. “We’re not the defending champs. We’re the 2024 world champs, that’s it.”
And the team’s attitude toward its recent achievement hasn’t changed as the season has drawn closer. The Eagles will unveil a banner celebrating their championship before the game on Thursday night, but the team won’t be on the field for the ceremony.
“I didn’t know it was banner night,” coach Nick Sirianni said this week. “We won’t be out for that.”
Philadelphia’s opponent, the Cowboys, are also trying to put last season behind them. It was a season to forget for Dallas in 2024, as its string of three-straight 12–5 seasons was snapped and the team slipped to 7–10. The most optimistic reading of last year’s results would be that quarterback Dak Prescott played only eight games due to a hamstring injury, and that Dallas should be better this year if Prescott remains healthy. But the Cowboys were 3–5 in games started by Prescott last season, and the team’s issues ran far deeper than having backup Cooper Rush under center for half the season.
Dallas had one of the worst defenses in the league last year (ranked 31st in points allowed and 28th in yards allowed)—and that was with Pro Bowler Micah Parsons still anchoring the defensive line. With Parsons having been unceremoniously shipped off to Green Bay following a contract dispute, can you really expect the defense to be much better this time around?
The Cowboys have a brand new coaching staff this season after parting ways with Mike McCarthy. Brian Schottenheimer, who spent the last two years as the team’s offensive coordinator, is the new head coach. He’s joined by defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who was fired midway through his third season as the coach of the Bears last year, and offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, who most recently served as the Cardinals’ offensive line coach and has never held sole coordinator responsibilities at any point in his coaching career. (He was co-offensive coordinator in his final season at Colorado in 2018.)
A matchup between classic rivals like the Eagles and Cowboys is a great way to start the new season. Add in the fact that Dallas is already turning into a laughingstock after the Parsons trade and the game has all the narrative depth you can hope for from an opener. Given all the question marks around the Cowboys, the stage is set for the Eagles to take a victory lap. Whether or not they consider it one.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Matt Verderame previews the NFL Week 1 slate, giving his key matchups, storylines to watch and predictions.
- The Packers’ stunning trade for Micah Parsons runs counter to everything the franchise stands for. Andrew Brandt breaks it down in this week’s “Business of Football” column.
- Our experts at the MMQB make their straight-up picks for all 16 Week 1 games, from Aaron Rodgers' return to New York to the Lions’ divisional clash at Lambeau Field.
- NBA executives warn the Clippers could face harsh penalties in the Kawhi Leonard saga, with some saying Adam Silver may need to make an example of them, writes Chris Mannix.
- With so much talent gone from last season, Kevin Sweeney spotlights 10 breakout players ready to step up and shape men’s college basketball this year.
- Angel City climbs back into the NWSL playoff picture after a late-season surge, shaking up the Matchday 19 Power Rankings.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. A towering home run by Giancarlo Stanton that went over the train tracks in Houston.
4. Ramón Laureano’s leaping home run robbery.
3. Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw’s incredible diving stop.
2. Padres reliever Mason Miller’s immaculate inning in which he threw nine straight nasty sliders.
1. Marlins prospect Jacob Jenkins-Cowart’s Superman dive for an amazing catch in right.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Eagles’ Quest to Repeat Starts Now.