Dallas Cowboys to play Philadelphia Eagles in NFL season opener

• Dallas will play at Philly on Sept. 4 in the season's first NFL game, intended to get football fans excited for the upcoming season.

The big picture: The Eagles are coming off a Super Bowl championship. The Cowboys are rebuilding after playing without quarterback Dak Prescott for months and ending last season 7-10.

Flashback: Temperatures reached 109 degrees — even hotter on the turf —when the rivals last played on opening weekend on Sept. 3, 2000.

• The matchup at Texas Stadium was the hottest game in NFL history. Eagles players used pickle juice to reduce muscle cramping, and won 41-14.
• Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman retired after the season ended.

The intrigue: Star Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons will play against the team he grew up watching.

• "Yeah yeah let's ball 😮‍💨🦁," the linebacker wrote on his Instagram story after the game was announced.

Between the lines: The Cowboys' viewership may have contributed to the NFL's decision to put them in the opening game.

• The team averaged around 22.5 million national TV viewers last season, the NFL's second-highest viewership, per Sportico.

State of play: The Eagles will have the upper hand as the defending Super Bowl champs, but there's still hope for the Cowboys.

• Former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer will debut as head coach, Prescott is expected to play, and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb will have help from newly acquired George Pickens.

What's next: The game will air on NBC and Peacock. Tickets are on sale.

• The Cowboys' full schedule will be released Wednesday.