With their win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, the Philadelphia Eagles have become the team to beat in the NFL. And one of the biggest stars in the league already wants to face Jalen Hurts and company in the 2025 season opener.
The defending Super Bowl champions will host the season’s first game, though their opponent remains uncertain. Only a few days after the Eagles‘ win in New Orleans, Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown made it clear that he wants to play the defending champions as soon as possible.
Speaking with his brothers Equanimeous and Osiris on their “St. Brown Podcast,” Amon-Ra let the NFL know that the Lions should be the Eagles’ first opponent in 2025, challenging Hurts and the reigning champs.
“Eagles have the home opener next year because they won the Super Bowl,” St. Brown said. “Can I read you the list of teams that could be in that first game? Commanders, Cowboys, Giants, Bears, Lions, Raiders, Rams, Broncos. Out of all those teams, if you’re the NFL, who are you putting in there?”
Both Equanimeous and Osiris agreed that they would choose the Lions, fueling Amon-Ra’s take. The Lions wide receiver, in fact, believes that his team could take down the Eagles: “That’s what I’m saying. So we might be playing at Lincoln Financial Field. You would see with our healthy defense, how that operates.”
St. Brown, Lions’ experience playing the Super Bowl champs in the NFL opener
St. Brown and the Lions know what it’s like to kick off a new season at the home of a defending Super Bowl champion. In 2023, Detroit was designated to play the Chiefs in the first game of the season, months after Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVII win.
The Lions were up to the task, pulling off a hard-fought win to upset Patrick Mahomes and company with a 21-20 win at Arrowhead. St. Brown caught six passes for 71 yards and a touchdown that night.
That season proved to be a turning point for the Lions, who showed the rest of the NFL that they were ready to become a contender in the NFC. They went on to make it all the way to the NFC Championship Game, where only three points prevented them from a rematch with the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.
Lions craving for what the Eagles achieved in 2024-25
The Lions built on that campaign to have an even stronger run in the 2024 NFL regular season, clinching the NFC’s No. 1 seed en route to the playoffs. Their postseason run ended sooner than predicted though, with St. Brown’s team losing to the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round.
The Eagles, on the other hand, found their way to glory from the Wild Card round after failing to get past that stage last year. Hurts and company have shown what they’re capable of, and only time will tell whether St. Brown gets a chance to prove his point on the field.