With the Philadelphia Eagles winning Super Bowl 59, we know they’ll be one of the two teams competing on opening night of the 2025-26 NFL season. But who will they face?
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter was on his podcast, “The Adam Schefter Podcast,” with Ty Schmit, a member of “The Pat McAfee Show,” to discuss just that.
Adam Schefter Sheds Light on Opening Night Matchup
On the podcast, Schmit begins by asking Schefter, “Who do you think the NFL is ultimately going to choose for the Eagles to face on opening night there in Philly?”
When the NFL sits down to mull its options for the 2025 regular-season opener, the Bears at the Eagles will have a compelling case.
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— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 12, 2025
After explaining that the Eagles will host the opening night game following their Super Bowl win, Schefter dove into the possibilities.
“…And here are the exact possibilities: the [Washington] Commanders—interesting—the [Dallas] Cowboys—not bad—the [New York] Giants—the division foes,” he started.
“Then we have the [Chicago] Bears, [Detroit] Lions, [Las Vegas] Raiders, [Los Angeles] Rams, and [Denver] Broncos,” he said, completing the list.
Schefter then went into how the Denver Broncos would be a compelling matchup but also said he didn’t think “the league will go that way.”
He then began discussing the Rams. “The Rams would be an NFC Championship Game rematch. I don’t know. The league could opt for that, don’t think it will.”
Of course, Schefter misspoke here since the Los Angeles Rams and Eagles played in the NFC Divisional Round, but that’s neither here nor there. He continued down the list, next talking about the Las Vegas Raiders.
“The Raiders, Pete Carroll’s first game, probably not good enough to put on Thursday night — not what the league is looking for.”
Next up was the Detroit Lions.
“The Lions would be compelling, but I also could see the league saving that game for one of its prime-time, sweet ratings weeks where they need to get the big numbers.”
Schefter Predicts Bears vs. Eagles on Opening Night
After eliminating those teams, Schefter narrowed it down to the NFC East division foes and the Chicago Bears. The Bears have a new head coach in Ben Johnson, who will hope to improve the team around second-year quarterback Caleb Williams — who finished 33rd in our QB+ metric with a 63.2 grade.
“…And the Chicago Bears, in my mind, become the matchup to watch for that Thursday night opener. I can totally see it now. Ben Johnson’s first game in Philadelphia, Bears looking to make a comeback. It’s not the marquee matchup that you’re giving away early on, when you’re going to get the ratings anyway with the Lions or the Rams, but it’s a compelling enough matchup that everyone would be excited to see it,” he stated.
“My guess, right now, guess, is Bears at Eagles in the opener. I’m calling my shot right now,” Schefter finished.