The defending-champion Eagles will host the Falcons in their season opener at 8:20 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, an NFL source said. The game will be broadcast locally on NBC10.
The NFL has had the reigning Super Bowl winner kick off the season at home on a Thursday or Wednesday since 2004. The Eagles, who will likely hand out Super Bowl LII rings and prominently display the Lombardi Trophy during a pregame celebration at Lincoln Financial Field, earned that honor with a 41-33 victory over the Patriots in February.
There had been a report that the Eagles would face the Vikings in the opener, but they won't see their NFC championship-game opponents until Week 5.
The Eagles eked by the Falcons, 15-10, in the divisional round of the playoffs this past season. This will be their third season opener against Atlanta since 2005. They lost the previous two meetings _ in 2005 and 2015 _ on the road.
The full NFL schedule will be released at 8 p.m. Thursday. The Eagles already announced the date for their London game against the Jaguars. They will play the road game Oct. 28 at Wembley Stadium at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time and have a bye the following week.
