Philadelphia Eagles fans have officially made it through the offseason, as it is game week in the City of Brotherly Love.
With the Dallas Cowboys coming to town for Thursday night's regular-season opener, there are plenty of topics that could distract members of the Eagles' roster from fully focusing on the task at hand.
Whether it be the banner raising to celebrate Philadelphia's latest Super Bowl championship, or their opponent practically giving away one of the league's best pass rushers in a trade, the media has every reason to be asking members of the roster about anything other than their Week 1 matchup itself.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts isn't having any of those distractions, though. During his time with the media on Sunday, the signal-caller had to go out of his way to change the line of questioning back to Thursday night's game and did his best to give Dallas some credit for being a worthy adversary.
Jalen Hurts during his press conference: "We got the Cowboys this week. Let's redirect ourselves back. I know we're kinda light today. Can I get one [a question] about them please?"
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) August 31, 2025
He says the Cowboys are a "really good team, both units." He notes their new DC and how they'll… pic.twitter.com/kr3AQfqu5I
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Butters Up Cowboys Before Week 1 Showdown
While he might not be showing it, Jalen Hurts has to be among the happiest players in the NFC East entering Week 1 after the Cowboys elected to trade All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers. Dallas willingly eliminating a player from the equation who has 52.5 sacks over the last four seasons is only going to make things easier on the defending champions.
In seven career games against the Eagles, Parsons recorded five sacks. Knowing that the offensive line won't have to put as much attention into keeping Parsons out of the backfield should only make Hurts even more comfortable going through his reads from the pocket and delivering strikes to his receivers.
By giving Dallas credit for being a "really good team, both units," Hurts ensures against providing a team desperate for something to rally around with bulletin board material. The Cowboys know they are in a tough spot without their top pass rusher from the past four seasons. There is no reason for Hurts to give the opposition any extra motivation with his comments to the press.
Following the trade that shipped Parsons to the NFC North, Philadelphia was made a -7.5 favorite over Dallas in Thursday night's opener. While that isn't the end-all, be-all in terms of projecting how this matchup will turn out, it is one of two games on the docket for Week 1 where the point spread is a touchdown or greater (the other being the lowly Tennessee Titans being an 8-point dog on the road against the Denver Broncos).
Emotions will be high on both sidelines once it comes time for kickoff at Lincoln Financial Field later this week. This measured approach to the matchup from Hurts is the appropriate way to view the matchup, though.