After 207 days, the joy and the thrill of watching the National Football League (NFL) have returned to the television screen. On Thursday, September 4, the Dallas Cowboys traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to face the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the first game of the 2025-2026 NFL season. The game between the two division rivals of the National Football Conference (NFC) East was highly anticipated as the Cowboys are considered “America’s Team” and had a chaotic offseason leading up to this game. At the same time, the Eagles are the reigning champions of the NFL.

These two teams came out fighting, and just before halftime, Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey nailed a 53-yard field goal to make the game 20-21 Philadelphia on top. By the second half, both teams’ offenses had immensely slowed down, and the two top defenses were the difference makers in this one. This game went down to the wire. On fourth down and three yards needed for the Cowboys to continue the game with just two minutes left, quarterback Dak Prescott threw a deep pass to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who unfortunately could not haul in the pass, giving Philadelphia the win. 

The final score was 24-20 as the Eagles came out victorious, led by reigning Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY) Saquon Barkley and Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts, who both in total accounted for all three Philadelphia touchdowns. 

This game was able to set the tone for the fifteen other NFL games still to be played, getting fans even more excited and anxious to be able to watch these games especially after the tone set by the Cowboys and Eagles. This allowed for other notable games that caught the attention of football fans. 

Kansas City Chiefs v. Los Angeles Chargers (Played in Sao Paulo Brazil) 

Two division rivals took the American Football Conference (AFC) South, but in a neutral location playing a part of the NFL is international games, specifically this one being in Sao Paulo Brazil. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert dominated this game with 318 passing yards and three passing touchdowns to lead the Chargers victorious over the Chiefs, 27-21. 

Baltimore Ravens v. Buffalo Bills 

A rematch of the previous AFC divisional matchup left a sour taste to the Ravens as they looked for revenge on the Bills. With the two top Most Valuable Player (MVP) candidates from the previous season, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, this game was circled on people’s calendars. Running back Derrick Henry led the charge for the Baltimore Ravens going for 169 yards and two rushing touchdowns. But this was not enough as the Bills managed to pull off a fifteen point comeback with just eleven minutes left in the game. Led by reigning MVP Josh Allen, who accounted for a total of 424 offensive yards (passing and rushing), also scored four total touchdowns which ultimately helped the Bills pull off a phenomenal comeback. 

Minnesota Vikings v. Chicago Bears 

A battle of two young quarterbacks with J.J. McCarthy for the Vikings and Caleb Williams for the Bears had fans anxious to see how the two would battle both entering their second season. This was McCarthy’s NFL debut after his previous rookie season when he tore his meniscus prior that led to a season ending surgery. This game had the Bears dominating through the first three quarters as they had a lead 17-6 entering the fourth quarter. This all changed after a fire was lit inside of J.J. McCarthy as he would lead the Vikings on three consecutive touchdown drives to give the Vikings the 27-24 lead in the end. McCarthy ended this game with 168 total offensive yards and scored two passing touchdowns and had a rushing touchdown as well.