The visiting team in the kickoff game often feels like the sideshow, but the Cowboys always are in the spotlight. That’s especially true after the Parsons trade, which drew an opinion from everyone with a passing interest in the NFL. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said a big part of the trade was Dallas attempting to improve its run defense by adding defensive lineman Kenny Clark in the deal. That will be tested right away by Saquon Barkley, who is coming off a 2,000-yard season for Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
The NFL season starts Thursday night. There will be drama right away.<\/p>\n
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DeVonta Smith (6) of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with A.J. Brown (11) during the Eagles’ win over the Cowboys last season. (Photo by Mitchell Leff\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
(Mitchell Leff via Getty Images)Who needs it more?<\/p>\n
Nobody wants to lose after seeing the banner get unveiled, but win or lose the Eagles will probably be fine. The Cowboys could use a good start to the season, with a new coach in Brian Schottenheimer and the Micah Parsons drama finally behind them. If the Cowboys lose and the defense gets torched by an Eagles offense that is fully capable of putting up 40 points on anyone, there will be another round of criticism over the Parsons trade. It’s never calm around the Cowboys, but a win would quiet some of the noise.<\/p>\n
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Key player: Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs<\/p>\n
Diggs, who underwent knee surgery last December, is expected to play on Thursday night though he could be on a pitch count, via NFL Media<\/a>. The Cowboys need him for however many snaps he can offer, because the Eagles have one of the best 1-2 receiver duos in the NFL. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith are both capable of taking over a game, and the Eagles are likely to test Diggs early to see if he’s moving well. How Diggs fares, in however many snaps he plays, will be huge for the Cowboys defense.<\/p>\n Betting market watch, by Ben Fawkes<\/p>\n It’s good to have the NFL back, and Eagles fans \u2014 and bettors \u2014 seem to feel that way, too. This line has moved significantly from an opener of Eagles -7, pushing up to -8 after the Cowboys dealt Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers last week, and currently sitting as high as Eagles -8.5 at some books. At BetMGM<\/a>, 65% of wagers and 71% of the total dollars wagered are on Philadelphia to cover, and one Vegas oddsmaker told me that it’s been “one-way action” on the Eagles so far, and Philadelphia is in many a bettor’s money-line parlay or teaser to start the Week 1 action.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Check out more of Ben\u2019s work at the Yahoo Sports betting hub<\/a><\/p>\n The NFL opens with a fun matchup on Thursday night. Philadelphia is the defending Super Bowl champs (ending last year on a ballistic 16-1 run), while Dallas is coming off a 7-10 season (after three straight playoff trips). Last year\u2019s meetings were not competitive, with Philly taking them both by a combined 75-13 count.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what I\u2019ll be looking at for fantasy purposes:<\/p>\n Does Dallas junk the running game? Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, rookie Jaydon Blue \u2014 the Dallas RB room is an unimpressive group on paper. The Dallas defense also looks like a mess \u2014 I thought it had collapse risk even before the Micah Parsons trade. Dak Prescott was a volume monster two years ago, and he might need to be again. And he has the targets to push the ball downfield.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Will Philly need to open things up? Jalen Hurts lived a charmed life last year, only throwing 144 passes (and six touchdown passes) in the second halves of games<\/a>. That\u2019s life when you\u2019ve almost always ahead. But that sort of outlier game flow often corrects, year over year.<\/p>\n Is Saquon Barkley welcome at the goal line? Barkley didn\u2019t have a single 1-yard touchdown plunge last year, while Hurts pushed in 11 times from that distance. Barkley also averaged a ridiculous 29.4 yards for his 15 touchdowns<\/a>, and he handled a league-high 378 touches. No one expects Barkley to match last year\u2019s 5.8 YPC, but some goal-line opportunities would help pay the fantasy bills.<\/p>\n