Ricky Dimon
Ladies and gentlemen, football is back! College football has already taken center stage; now the NFL joins the party. Week 1 is upon us, kicking off with Thursday Night Football between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. It is a showdown in the NFC East featuring one franchise that is seemingly in disarry (Dallas) and another that is coming off a Super Bowl triumph (Philadelphia).
Here is my Same Game Parlay for the festivities, which get underway at 8:20 pm ET on NBC and Peacock. Also be sure to check out our full Cowboys vs Eagles predictions.
Eagles -9.5 alternate spread (+100)
Over 47.5 (-110)
DeVonta Smith to record 70+ rushing yards (+172)
Parlay odds: +669
Part of the value in a Same Game Parlay, of course, is that all of its components can be correlated if you so choose. That is the entire plan here, as Philadelphia wide receiver DeVonta Smith racking up a bunch of yards would obviously work well with a big win by the Eagles and the over. Let’s break down each of the 3 legs.
Eagles -9.5 alternate spread (+100)
This is a marquee matchup simply because it is an epic rivalry between 2 longtime NFC East foes. On paper, however, it does not appear to be overly competitive. That’s the way it will probably play out on the field, too. Philadelphia the defending champion and is projected to once again be among the best teams in the league. There has been some turnover on defense, but the offense is still paced by Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Meanwhile, the Cowboys – as usual – were a circus show during the offseason. The Micah Parsons saga finally came to an end when he was traded to the Green Bay Packers last week. Good luck trying to contain Philadelphia’s high-powered attack without Parsons! Let’s also not forget that the Eagles swept last year’s pair of regular-season games by a combined score of 75-13. The home team will likely spoil Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s head-coaching debut without too much trouble.
Over 47.5 (-110)
Both teams come in with question marks on the defensive side of the football. The Cowboys’ defense was already bad to begin with (#28 overall, #31 in scoring last year) and now it is without Parsons, arguably the best edge rusher in football. Philly’s defensive departures from the 2024 Super Bowl-winning squad include Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Darius Slay. Dak Prescott should be able to take advantage, distributing the ball to the likes of CeeDee Lamb and newcomer George Pickens. Of course, you can count on the Eagles doing most of the heavy lifting in terms of putting points on the scoreboard. I don’t think the Dallas defense has any chance.
DeVonta Smith to record 70+ rushing yards (+172)
The Cowboys gave up the second-most yards per pass attempt in 2024 (7.9). There is no reason to expect any improvement now that Parsons is gone. If Hurts has a lot of time to throw the ball, watch out for Smith (and Brown, for that matter). Smith had a huge day at the office the last time Philadelphia hosted Dallas – in Week 17 of last season. The former Alabama standout caught 6 of 7 targets for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns. Asking him to simply reach the 70-yard mark should not be too much, and it has especially good value well into plus money.
