Cowboys vs. Eagles betting guide: Predictions, picks, best bets for NFL season opener

CBS NFL expert Will Brinson shares his favorite sides and props for Thursday's contest between Dallas and Philadelphia

Life sure comes at you fast, huh? At one point you're watching the confetti rain down after the Super Bowl, and then you turn around Micah Parsons is on the Packers, Travis Kelce is engaged to Taylor Swift and the 2025 NFL season is about to kick off. 

Every NFL season is special — mostly because it's just a non-stop barrage of betting on, er, watching football — but this feels like it could be a GREAT one. 

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The opener is a fun one, too, with the NFL pitting the Eagles vs. the Cowboys, Philadelphia basking in yet another recent Super Bowl victory, and the Cowboys forced into hostile territory amid the Parsons trade and an excellent Netflix special on Jerry Jones looming behind everything. 

Every year features more and more pressure for the Cowboys, and 2025 is no different. So, good luck, and here are the absolutely loaded Eagles. 

If you're new to NFL betting or need a refresher, make sure to check out our NFL betting guide with the season right around the corner. Also make sure to check out the SportsLine Projection Model's forecast for the entire Cowboys-Eagles game.

Top straight bet (spread, money line or total)

Under 48.5 points 

The move was — as my colleague R.J. White did over on SportsLine — to bet the Eagles when they were favored by less than a touchdown, with the Parsons stuff up in the air. Once the star defender got traded, the line went crazy, and the Eagles are now -8.5 just about everywhere. That's a bit too rich for my taste in Week 1, especially given this is a Week 1 divisional game with a lot of unknowns on the Dallas side both with Parsons gone and the Cowboys having a new-look coaching staff and first-time head coach. 

The Eagles will want to show out for the fans after the Super Bowl title, but I'm not sure if they'll be too gaudy on offense. Saquon Barkley should get the bulk of the work against a bad Dallas run defense, and if things get out of hand, we may see a decent amount of Will Shipley. The Eagles probably wouldn't mind running up the score on their hated rival, but beating Dallas is way down the list of things they want to accomplish, well behind "defending a Super Bowl title." Get in, get out, hammer the Dallas run defense, and let the Cowboys waltz through the backdoor with Dak Prescott passing a bunch in the second half. 

I think Philly can chomp enough clock in the run game on every possession that they get out of here with a low-scoring, fairly casual victory. Give me Under 48.5 as my favorite "traditional" bet in this game. You can bet the Under at BetMGM, where new users get up to $1,500 back in bonus bets if their first bet doesn't win:

Eagles-Cowboys player props

Dak Prescott Over 36.5 pass attempts (-115 at FanDuel)

Let's lean into the game script here. If the Cowboys' defense is able to stop the Eagles' rushing attack, this one could be in trouble. But if Dallas falls behind at all, we could very well see Brian Schottenheimer panic and have Prescott let it rip to try and come back. That doesn't necessarily mean Prescott will have a lot of success in that scenario, but it will mean he'll throw the ball a lot. The juice is pretty high on this in some places at the moment, but you can still find a good price if you shop around.

Javonte Williams Under 35.5 rushing yards (-130 at Fanatics)

Correlation, baby! If you think this game will feature the Eagles running a ton and running successfully, it's pretty unlikely that Javonte Williams, who has been largely ineffective since coming back from injury the last two years, is going to crack 40 yards. Brian Schottenheimer will no doubt want to run the ball, but I'm not sure how long the Cowboys can try to jam the rock into a nasty interior defense for Philadelphia before letting Dak Prescott throw the ball. This number probably trickles down to 34.5 and maybe a little lower, but Williams should see enough carries to prevent it from cratering. He's only topped 50 yards a handful of times in the last two years, and it's been with a massive workload and against easier rush defenses.

Anytime touchdown

Saquon Barkley ATD + Jalen Hurts ATD (+185 parlay on DraftKings)

Sometimes it's best just to keep it simple, and we're doing that with a pair of touchdowns from the two biggest usage guys on the Eagles. Saquon is going to get fed, and I expect him to see some serious positive touchdown regression this season, starting in the first game. Hurts anytime touchdown was pretty mispriced for much of last year, and the combo here is simply too good of value to ignore. 

Odds boost notes

It's worth noting that DK offering a 50% boost for Thursday night touchdown scorers, so you can get this pretty simple and pretty chalky two-leg touchdown parlay all the way up to +273, which is a ridiculous price.