Squirrel’s Nuts & Bolts: Eagles vs Cowboys Showdown Strategy (Week 1 NFL DFS)
It’s been nearly seven months since the last meaningful NFL snap, but real football is finally back this Thursday as the Eagles host the Cowboys to kick off the 2025 season. No more preseason tune-ups, no more Best Ball drafts—the points count, the wins matter, and FanDuel and DraftKings are serving up more than an appetizer portion of single-game contests. Both sites are rolling out massive prize pools, and FanDuel is debuting a long-awaited change by adding a salary multiplier to the MVP spot, giving their primetime contests a much-needed boost.
On the field, Dallas welcomes back Dak Prescott from last year’s season-ending hamstring injury and adds new playmakers George Pickens and Javonte Williams to a core that already features CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson. The defense, however, could be a step behind after losing Micah Parsons to Green Bay. That’s bad news against an Eagles team returning nearly all of its championship-caliber offense, including Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. With the Cowboys surrendering the most rushing touchdowns in the NFL last season—and ranking bottom-five in rushing yards allowed—Philadelphia’s ground game has a prime opportunity to set the tone in Week 1.
Oddsmakers have set the tone for this NFC East battle, opening with a total of 47.5 points and installing the Eagles as 7.5-point favorites at home. Now it’s time to break down this NFC East showdown, spotlight the key plays, and uncover the DFS single-game strategies that can help you climb the leaderboards.
Primetime Game History
When we last saw the Eagles under the bright lights, they closed out the season with a 40-22 win over the Chiefs in February, securing their second championship title. The winning DraftKings Showdown lineup from that night was a reminder of how unorthodox single-game DFS contests can be. Xavier Worthy landed in the CPT spot at just 7.1% ownership in the largest DraftKings tournament, paired with both quarterbacks (each over 60% owned), the Eagles’ defense, their kicker, and DeVonta Smith. That build left $1,200 in salary unused, and the 13 entries with that roster each walked away with more than $110,000.
Dallas’s most recent primetime appearance was less memorable, a 26-24 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday Night Football in Week 16. Cooper Rush started at quarterback, Ezekiel Elliott found the end zone, and the Cowboys did just enough to win at home. With Dallas now fielding a much different offensive core, there’s little DFS relevance to pull from that game.
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