Four Things To Watch For In Eagles-Cowboys TNF Week 1
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter:
It’s finally here.
The 2025 NFL season kicks off tonight with an extremely fun tilt between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.
The oddsmakers might not think this game is going to be close (Philly is -8 in most places), but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a ton of intrigue for fantasy (the game still has a 47.5-point total).
Here are four things I’m most interested in seeing unfold after months and months of over-analyzing …
1) Can George Pickens be the Tee Higgins to CeeDee Lamb’s Ja’Marr Chase? We’ve been hyping up Pickens all offseason—Dwain featured him in his late-breakout piece and I called him a league-winning selection in Round 5. Tonight, we’ll finally get to see him in action (and see how Dak Prescott looks with a legitimate No. 2 receiving weapon for the first time in ages).
2) What happens when the Eagles actually get pushed? Last year they punished teams on the ground with Saquon Barkley while Jalen Hurts ranked nearly dead last among all QBs in pass attempts per game (23.8). Imagine what happens if some of their opponents—like the Cowboys—can keep games close? We could see a fantasy explosion from a very condensed passing offense.
3) Is Jaydon Blue ready for primetime? Look, Javonte Williams will undoubtedly be the lead back for Dallas tonight, but there’s just no way he holds onto the gig for the whole season. If Blue—who is now fully healthy and off the injury report—gets some Week 1 touches, watch out. He is the highest upside and most explosive back on the roster (and it’s not even close).
4) Can Will Shipley be Kenneth Gainwell+? Shipley has been one of my favorite late-round targets all summer and I think people are still sleeping on him heading into the season. The contingent upside is league-winning in the event of an injury (sorry, I don’t believe AJ Dillon is a thing), but I also think he could have a standalone role with some passing down work.
Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t wait for kickoff …
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Editors’ Picks
We’ve made it. The 2025 NFL season kicks off tonight. Before we turn our attention to the Eagles and Cowboys, catch up with the best Week 1 content so you don’t fall behind while you’ve been spending your time cramming in your 11th-hour drafts.
10 Things To Know
A must-add DST for Week 1, handcuff stashes, rankings questions, you name it. Ian Hartitz has rounded up the 10 most important topics ahead of Week 1 to make sure you don’t miss a beat.
Buy Sell Hold
You know it, you love it, and the regular-season version is officially back. Cooterdoodle runs through her players and beliefs she’s buying, selling, and holding ahead of 2025 kickoff.
Week 1 Drops
Just because the season hasn’t started, it doesn’t mean it’s too early to cut bait. Geoff Ulrich runs through players you should let go before kickoff today.
Risers and Fallers In The Week 1 Rankings
With Week 1 kicking off tonight, that only means one thing: the return of Dwain McFarland’s Brass Balls Bench and Sicko Starts of the week. His risers and fallers in his rankings are a nice touch, of course.
And speaking of his rankings risers, it might be hard to find a QB that is shooting up his rankings more than Trevor Lawrence …
“After a forgettable 2024 campaign, averaging 16.3 points per game (PPG), many fantasy managers faded Lawrence in 2025 drafts. He was the QB20 according to consensus ADP.
While I haven't been a huge Lawrence supporter, he was my third-most drafted QB this offseason thanks to his spike potential as a rusher and a passer. Despite not living up to his No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick price tag, Lawrence has QB8 and QB12 finishes on his resume.
In a new offense under Liam Coen featuring Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter, we could see T-Law climb to new heights. Week 1 looks like as good a time as any for the Jaguars' signal caller to get the engine revving.
Jacksonville sports the sixth-highest team total (25) based on Vegas odds, facing a Panthers defense that provided the fourth-highest fantasy boost to QBs (4.4 PPG) to opposing signal callers.
When you add it all up, Lawrence profiles extremely well in my projections.
- Floor: 9.9 (7th)
- Median: 17.6 (7th)
- Xfinity Best (Ceiling): 29.9 (6th)
These numbers are based on the variance associated with each statistical category that makes up fantasy points (e.g., passing yards, passing TDs, passing INTs, rushing yards, rushing TDs).
Lawrence is my QB9 for Week 1 and is available in 49% of Yahoo leagues.”
Read on for all of Dwain’s risers and fallers, and don’t forget the Sicko Starts.👀⬇️
The Ultimate Disappointment on Tap?
“In 2024, Ashton Jeanty had an elite 2,739 yards and 30 TDs from scrimmage as a true junior. He won the Maxwell and Doak Walker Awards as the best all-around player and RB in college football. He earned unanimous first-team All-American accolades and finished No. 2 in Heisman Trophy voting.
And then this April he was selected No. 6 overall by the Raiders.
I expect him to have a good career. Maybe a great one.
And the matchup with the Patriots looks good for his NFL debut. Last year, the Pats were No. 3 in largest fantasy boost allowed to RBs (+5).
But I expect the Pats to be significantly better in run defense this year.
Last year, they were without DT Christian Barmore for most of the campaign, but this year he's ready for Week 1, and this offseason the team added DTs Milton Williams and Khyiris Tonga, EDGEs Harold Landry and K'Lavon Chaisson, and LB Robert Spillane.
Most importantly, the team hired defensive HC Mike Vrabel.
In his three final seasons as the Titans' HC (2021-23), his defense was No. 1 in rush EPA (-0.132) and No. 3 in rush SR (37.1%, per RBs Don't Matter).
And in that time, his defense was always in the bottom six in fantasy boost allowed to RBs.
- 2023: -1.3 (No. 27)
- 2022: -3.0 (No. 30
- 2021: -2.5 (No. 30)
I can imagine Vrabel building his defensive plan around trying to stop Jeanty … and then there are all the negative factors for the Raiders.
They're a West Coast team traveling east for an early 1 p.m. ET game. They're +2.5 dogs on the road. They have a subpar offensive line. And their offense could have some transitional struggles early in the year with new HC Pete Carroll, OC Chip Kelly and QB Geno Smith.
If the Pats focus their defense on stopping Jeanty, and if the offense doesn't get production from anyone other than TE Brock Bowers, then it could be a bad day for the Raiders in general and Jeanty in particular.
Bold Prediction: Jeanty gets fewer than 50 scrimmage yards and no TDs.”
Yes, you read that right. Matthew Freedman’s first bold call of the 2025 season is a HOT one. For four more bold predictions for Week 1, read on. ⤵️
No Defense? No problem.
Nobody likes drafting defenses and, if you’re like many of us here at Fantasy Life, you probably took a “no defense” approach to your draft. Waiting until the last round to punt your defense with early-season matchups in mind.
Well, the time to stream defenses is now. And luckily, we’ve got three defenses that are rostered in less than 50% of leagues in fantastic spots in Week 1.
Jonathan Fuller breaks them all down below. ⬇️
Around the Watercooler
The latest fantasy nuggets, silliness, and NFL gossip from our merry band of football nerds.
👀 Track all of your fantasy matchups across all platforms... in real time ... in one place ... during TNF. Yes, really.
📺 Matthew Berry stops by the show to talk all things Week 1. Tune in!
📖 Mapping out every bye week before they creep up. Good resource to bookmark.
🪓 Need a last-minute add to get you through the early weeks? We’ve got options.
🤯 Mr. Beast & a Roger Goodell collab. Pretty good.
🚑️ Week 1 injury updates are rolling in … Darnell Mooney, Khalil Shakir,
🤮 Brutal news for the Jets. Not great.
😡 Oh no, people are mad. RedZone is going to be different this year.
🐬 A rookie RB sleeper or flop?! This quote from Mike McDaniel is a doozie.
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