Super Bowl Champion Eagles Open Season Vs. Falcons Thursday Night

Not even seven months have passed since the Philadelphia Eagles marched down Broad Street with thousands of the faithful fandom to celebrate their Super Bowl 52 victory over the New England Patriots. And on Thursday night, the champions will line up for their Week 1 season opening game and the first step in a long journey to their title defense.

It all begins in south Philadelphia at 8:20 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field, as the Birds will host the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons finished the 2017 season with a 10-6 record, and, arguably, gave the Eagles their biggest scare in the divisional playoff game on Jan. 13. Fans will recall a nail-biting finish in which the Falcons were just one dropped pass away from sending the underdog Eagles home early.

That pass, however, was dropped in the final seconds. The Eagles won, 15-10, and the rest is history.

Thursday will mark the beginning of head coach Doug Pederson's third season at the helm of the Birds. He's put together a 20-12 regular season record over those two seasons, highlighted of course by last year's 3-0 playoff run.

The Birds remain without budding superstar quarterback Carson Wentz, who is still recovering from the knee injury which prematurely ended his 2017 season. Instead, Pederson will turn to Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles to lead the offensive charge. In the divisional playoff game against the Falcons, Foles completed 23 of 30 passes (76.7 percent) with a 100.1 passer rating, so there's reason to be optimistic.

Still, the Birds will have their work cut out for them. The Falcons are expected to be at least an equivalent team to their 2018 incarnation. CBS calls them an 11-5 team this year; ESPN is more cautious in their 9-7 forecast; while all of the Falcons SB Nation bloggers predict an 11-5 or 12-4 year. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, a Chester County native, will have an improved offense this year, led by 26th overall draft pick Calvin Ridley, a wide receiver. They'll also return Pro Bowl wide receiver Julio Jones, giving the team a formidable air attack.

Over at ESPN.com, six of their seven analysts have picked the Falcons to win in Week 1. But then again, the Eagles have some experience with being underdogs (and they are, as you'll see below, the betting favorites).

Looking to get fired up ahead of Thursday's big matchup? Here's a quick refresher on some things that happened the last time the Birds took the field.

• WATCH: Nick Foles Calls Legendary 'Philly Special' In Super Bowl 52
  
• Madness Sweeps The Streets Of Philly After Eagles Super Bowl Victory
  
• Celebrity Fans React To Eagles Super Bowl Win
• 20 Eagles Stories To Get You Hyped For The Super Bowl

Here's a little something to get you pumped up:

And here's what you need to know about Thursday night's game:

TV: The game will be broadcast nationwide on NBC. Veteran announcers Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels will head up the coverage.

Local Radio: SportsRadio 94WIP will broadcast the game in the Philadelphia area. Merrill Reese is the play-by-play announcer, while Mike Quick is the color analyst.

National Radio: ESPN Radio will broadcast the game nationally.

Kickoff: Kickoff is at 8:40 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field

The Betting Line

Here's what the oddsmakers have to say about Sunday afternoon's game via ESPN.com:

• Westgate - Philadelphia by 1 point
• Caesar's - Philadelphia by 1.5 points
• William Hill - Philadelphia by 1.5 points
• Wynn - Philadelphia by 1.5 points
• CG Technology - Philadelphia by 2 points
• Unibet - Philadelphia by 1 point

Tickets

Thinking of attending in person? Tickets are still available, ranging from $164 and up. Check out StubHub here.

Lincoln Financial Field

For tailgating information. see here.

For parking details and rules, see here.

Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images