The Eagles excitement will get off to a quick start as they face the Houston Texans, who hold the first pick in the NFL Draft and are likely to take Reggie Bush with the pick, giving the Eagles run defense a test.

The showdowns with the NFC East teams begin the following week with a matchup against the Giants in Philadelphia. Terrell Owens and the Cowboys will be meeting the Eagles on Christmas Day. Originally, it was thought that game would be in Philadelphia, but when the official schedule was announced, the game was set in Dallas. The Cowboys will be in Philadelphia on October 8th, for Owens first visit.

Besides seeing the number one pick in the draft, the Eagles will also see the number two pick when they play in New Orleans on October 15 and the number three pick when they host Tennessee on November 19. When you include the pre-season matchup with Oakland, the Eagles are likely to see six of the top seven picks, missing only whoever winds up going to the Jets, who hold the fourth overall pick.

The late season games are subject to the new flexible scheduling policy adopted by the NFL. It will allow for quality matchups to be guaranteed for the Sunday night broadcasts which will shift to NBC in 2006.