The NFL schedule officially comes out on Thursday. Still, Philly fans got an early present, with the Fox team announcing on Monday that the Philadelphia Eagles get to travel to AT&T Stadium for the long-awaited Thanksgiving Day matchup against their division foe, the Dallas Cowboys.
This will be the first time that Philadelphia has played Dallas on Thanksgiving since 2014, when the Eagles dominated with a 33-10 victory on Turkey Day. This is also the first time that the Birds played on Thanksgiving since a 45-14 Detroit Lions dominant victory in 2015. So this is going to be a fun matchup between Dallas, led by Dak Prescott, and Philadelphia, which is led by Jalen Hurts. Let’s break down why this will be an anticipated matchup in 2026.
The NFC East Race Might Be Determined by This Matchup
The Eagles in 2025 broke the NFC East repeat curse and will enter 2026 as the two-time reigning division champs. But the NFC East as a whole got a whole lot better, around Philadelphia, including Dallas, which hired former Philadelphia DB coach Christian Parker as their new defensive coordinator, drafted Caleb Downs, and made some good moves around the margins on the defensive side of the ball. Along with still having that talented offense that was one of the league leaders last season.
Meanwhile, for the Philadelphia, they might lose A.J. Brown via a trade, but they did get some more weapons to replace him in Makai Lemon and Eli Stowers. Along with bolstering their outside cornerback spot with the addition of Riq Woolen in free agency, they also addressed the edge spot via a great trade for Jonathan Greenard. So, Philadelphia will still be in a great position to win the division once again. So this game is going to be an important one to mark on the calendar for NFC East fans alike, and also important for families to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner in front of the TV at 4:30 EST this year.
The Eagles vs Cowboys Rivalry Deserved This Spot for Years
Yes, the Eagles opening their 2025 campaign against the Dallas Cowboys after winning Super Bowl LIX was cinema for Birds fans like myself. Especially with the win on banner night to start, but I’ve been dreaming of an Eagles vs Cowboys Thanksgiving matchup for the last 12 years, and arguably it should’ve happened earlier, like in 2023, or 2024, when the Cowboys got the Commanders and Giants in those games when the better matchup was against Philadelphia.
I understand why the Chiefs got the game in 2025, but as it played out, the Chiefs were not great either because of their terrible 2025 season. So, now the NFL turns to the best rivalry over the last ten years in the league by far in Philly vs Dallas rivalry. And this game is going to deliver the goods in 2026.
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