The vibes for the two teams in the NFL's annual kickoff game couldn't be much different. The Philadelphia Eagles have a new championship to celebrate. The Dallas Cowboys seem further away from breaking their title drought after trading superstar Micah Parsons last week. The first game of the NFL season doesn't lack storylines, at least. The Eagles return plenty of talent from a team that won 16 of its last 17 games last season, including a Super Bowl LIX blowout of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles are so focused on a repeat and not letting complacency set in that coach Nick Sirianni said theteam will not be on the sideline to watch the championship banner be unveiled. There's business to attend to. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] 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. The NFL season starts Thursday night. There will be drama right away. 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. 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. 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. It's good to have the NFL back, and Eagles fans — and bettors — 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, 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. Check out more of Ben's work atthe Yahoo Sports betting hub 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's meetings were not competitive, with Philly taking them both by a combined 75-13 count. Here's what I'll be looking at for fantasy purposes: Does Dallas junk the running game?Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, rookie Jaydon Blue — the Dallas RB room is an unimpressive group on paper. The Dallas defense also looks like a mess — 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. 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. That's life when you've almost always ahead. But that sort of outlier game flow often corrects, year over year. Is Saquon Barkley welcome at the goal line?Barkley didn't have a single 1-yard touchdown plunge last year, while Hurts pushed in 11 times from that distance. Barkley also averageda ridiculous 29.4 yards for his 15 touchdowns, and he handled a league-high 378 touches. No one expects Barkley to match last year's 5.8 YPC, but some goal-line opportunities would help pay the fantasy bills. Check out more of Scott's work at theYahoo Sports fantasy hub