Eagles fans rejoice as NFL lines up immediate opportunity to crush Cowboys

The moment the Philadelphia Eagles fans have been waiting for: the announcement of their first game of the season. And it came out a bit underwhelming.

On Monday morning, it was announced that the Eagles will be facing the Dallas Cowboys in Philadelphia as the first game of the regular season. The two teams will play on Thursday, September 4 at 8:20 pm EST on NBC and Peacock.

It's rare to see the Eagles and Cowboys play this early in the regular season, as this is the first time since 2000 the two have faced off in Week 1. Only twice since 2015 have the two teams played their first match in September.

The Eagles and Cowboys rivalry has been historic and one of the best in recent years. Despite its greatness, the NFL missed a perfect opportunity to give Philadelphia the actual opponents the city wanted in Week 1.

Who should the NFL have chosen as the Eagles' Week 1 matchup?

The Eagles-Cowboys matchup is not as compelling as it was two years ago because of the lopsidedness of the game last year. Philadelphia outscored Dallas 75-13, and the Eagles won both games convincingly.

The Cowboys will always be considered "America's Team," with the NFL doing everything possible to give them the most primetime games. Dallas did little to improve the roster this offseason as the Cowboys brace to pay some of their top stars, like Micah Parsons.

It's not a bad matchup as the Cowboys should be slightly more competitive against the Eagles this season, but the Philly faithful have one opponent they have circled on the calendar since the end of the season. If a division opponent were to pick, it should have been the Washington Commanders.

Both regular-season matchups against Washington were exciting, as the two teams split the series. The NFC Title game broke the tiebreaker as the Eagles routed the Commanders by 32 points to make the Super Bowl.

Washington makes more sense as the opening game, as the two teams are the front-runners to win the division and the NFC. It would be a meaningful game to open the season as it would set the tone for who will run with the division lead the rest of the season.

It's more likely that the Eagles-Commanders games are being saved for later in the season when a division lead or title is on the line. Dallas will be able to capture an audience since the Cowboys have one of the largest fan bases, but all NFL fans want to see two of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL, Jayden Daniels and Jalen Hurts, face off. Eagles fans included.