.-') _ .-') _ | |
( OO ) ) ( OO ) ) | |
.-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,' | |
' .--./ | \ | |\ | \ | |\ | |
| |('-. | \| | )| \| | ) | |
/_) |OO )| . |/ | . |/ | |
|| |`-'| | |\ | | |\ | | |
(_' '--'\ | | \ | | | \ | | |
`-----' `--' `--' `--' `--' | |
lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial | |
ARTICLE VIEW: | |
Philadelphia Eagles outlast Dallas Cowboys in NFL season opener that | |
started with the spit seen around the world | |
By Jacob Lev, CNN | |
Updated: | |
7:52 AM EDT, Fri September 5, 2025 | |
Source: CNN | |
Thursday’s season opener, which saw the defending Super Bowl champion | |
defeat the 24-20, also gave fans a little bit of everything, including | |
touchdowns, scuffles, a weather delay and a spitting scandal. | |
After the opening kickoff, Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter was | |
penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. The 24-year-old appeared to spit | |
at Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and was ejected before the offense | |
took a snap. | |
As boos rained down from the Philly crowd, the former first round pick | |
out of Georgia walked off the field, holding his helmet without a | |
single drop of sweat on his face. | |
“One of the officials observed him spitting on an opponent,” | |
referee Shawn Smith told a pool reporter. “It’s a disqualifiable | |
foul in the game. It’s a non-football act.” | |
However, NBC cameras later showed Prescott spitting in the direction of | |
Carter before the All-Pro got into the quarterback’s face. | |
After the game, Carter told reporters that he made a “mistake.” | |
“I feel bad for just my teammates and fans out here,” Carter said. | |
“I’m doing it for them. Doing it for my family also but fans, they | |
show the most love. … It won’t happen again. I’ve already made | |
that promise.” | |
Prescott, however, downplayed the spitting incident, claiming he was | |
trying to “mess” with one of his offensive lineman and felt the | |
“need” to spit, which riled Carter up. | |
“I’m sure he probably regrets that to a certain extent,” Prescott | |
said. “Pretty sure he knows that I didn’t try to spit on him or | |
wasn’t even aiming at him. Something thats probably going to get a | |
lot of coverage and attention that I’m sorry for. … Unfortunate | |
circumstances.” | |
A tale of two halves | |
The first half was all offense while the second was all defense. | |
Both teams combined to score 41 points in the first two quarters with | |
just a measly three combined points in the last two. | |
All the talk of late has been about who the Cowboys’ owner and | |
general manager, Jerry Jones, has traded away, but not who the team has | |
signed. | |
Running back Javonte Williams, a former second round pick of the Denver | |
Broncos, signed in the Lone Star State this past offseason and quickly | |
provided a spark for Dallas. | |
The 25-year-old barreled his way in for two 1-yard touchdowns to give | |
the Cowboys much needed points against the high-powered Eagles offense. | |
However, it was star quarterback Jalen Hurts that kept the game from | |
getting out of reach. | |
The reigning Super Bowl MVP finished the game throwing for 152 yards, | |
62 yards on the ground and two touchdowns to lead the Eagles. | |
As the clock slowly ticked and Cowboys down four points, needing a | |
touchdown for the win, it was all on Prescott. | |
Despite throwing his best balls, Cowboys receivers weren’t able to | |
reel them in, including a ball going right through CeeDee Lamb’s | |
hands. The drop led to the Eagles getting the ball back and running | |
down the clock to secure a tough first victory in their title defense. | |
“It means everything to come out and start strong,” Hurts told the | |
NBC broadcast. | |
“It’s a new team, it’s a new journey, and we got tested tonight. | |
They played a hell of a game. We know how they are when Dak (Prescott) | |
is back and they got their crew all together, so a lot of respect for | |
that team on the other side. | |
“So we just gotta clean up some things and play better football, but | |
it’s always good to say that and find a way to win.” | |
Last year’s offensive player of the year Saquon Barkley finished with | |
60 yards rushing, which garnered a chuckle out of him when learning he | |
was beat out by Hurts. | |
“I love it. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is | |
winning football games, and what do we say? By land, by air, it don’t | |
matter, and (Hurts) did everything we needed for him to do today,” | |
Barkley said. | |
Hurts described he and his running back as “Yin and Yang.” | |
“A complimentary force,” Hurts explained. | |
“Approach things in a very similar way, same mentality, but may | |
express it differently. And so I think it’s as complimentary as it | |
gets. He’s a hell of a player and he’s had all the success he’s | |
had for a reason.” | |
Mother nature had other plans | |
The weather in Philadelphia looked threatening ahead of kickoff and | |
finally made itself known with the Eagles leading the Cowboys by four | |
with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter. | |
The game was suspended around 10:25 p.m. ET due to lightning in the | |
area and the delay lasted over an hour. | |
The break in the action provided an interesting dilemma for Dallas | |
cornerback Trevon Diggs. The broadcast showed the 26-year-old All-Pro | |
looking for food during the delay. | |
The Dallas defense showed up after the delay, holding the Eagles | |
scoreless after play resumed, but it wasn’t enough to secure a win as | |
the Cowboys offense could not break through against Philly. | |
While the Eagles are certainly enjoying the win, a tough test awaits | |
them next week – Super Bowl LIX rematch against the Kansas City | |
Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. | |
The Cowboys will face another division rival, the New York Giants, at | |
home. | |
<- back to index |