Philadelphia Eagles beat Dallas Cowboys 24-20 in NFL opener as Jalen Carter is ejected for spitting on Dak Prescott
Jalen Carter was ejected just six seconds into the opening game of the NFL season for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott; the Philadelphia Eagles begin Super Bowl defence with 24-20 victory over NFC East rivals after a delay of 65 minutes due to lightning
Friday 5 September 2025 11:59, UK
Jalen Hurts rushed for two touchdowns while Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting at Dak Prescott as the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles opened the 2025 NFL season with a 24-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
The Eagles led 24-20 with 4:44 left in the third quarter when the game was delayed 65 minutes because of lightning in the area around Lincoln Financial Field, with the contest eventually ending at 12.18am local time.
Prescott threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-three with 1:54 left to end Dallas' last-gasp rally. He passed for 188 yards.
Hurts wore out a defense that just lost Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in a blockbuster trade with touchdown runs of four and eight yards.
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Saquon Barkley also ran for a 10-yard score, even if his final rushing total of 60 yards was modest compared to the last season when he topped 2,000 yards.
Hurts punctuated one score by chucking the ball into the stands and shrugging his shoulders much like his friend and mentor Michael Jordan, who received a warm ovation when he was shown on the big screen.
Stats leaders:
Cowboys:
- Passing: Dak Prescott, 21/34, 188 yards
- Rushing: Javonte Williams, 15 carries, 54 yards, 2 TDs
- Receiving: CeeDee Lamb, 7 catches, 110 yards
Eagles:
- Passing: Jalen Hurts, 19/23, 152 yards
- Rushing: Jalen Hurts, 14 carries, 62 yards, 2 TDs
- Receiving: Jahan Dotson, 3 catches, 59 yards
Javonte Williams found the end zone twice on his first regular-season outing for the Cowboys, while fellow new addition George Pickens had three catches for 30 yards.
A quiet outing for the Eagles offense meanwhile saw AJ Brown make just one catch for eight yards on one target, with DeVonta Smith posting three catches for 16 yards.
Hurts, Barkley and the rest of the Eagles spent a pregame ceremony where the team raised their 2024 championship banner inside the locker room, per the wishes of coach Nick Sirianni.
Jalen Carter headed right back inside only moments after the banner was raised. Prescott and Carter exchanged words after the opening kickoff, and Carter spat on Prescott's jersey before backing away.
Prescott quickly motioned to a nearby official who threw the flag and sent Carter packing. Fans booed as Carter walked off slowly, the standout defensive tackle holding his helmet in his hands behind his back.
Footage later appeared to show Prescott spitting in the direction of Carter, who then walked forward to spit on the Cowboys quarterback.
Still one of the NFL's nastiest division rivalries, the game was full of skirmishes and a near-costly unnecessary roughness penalty late in the third against the Eagles that put the Cowboys in position to take the lead.
Dallas running back Miles Sanders, though, fumbled the ball at the 10 and the Super Bowl champions recovered, with Prescott making a touchdown-saving diving tackle on the play.
It would be a while until the Eagles got the ball back, with the game stopped with 4:44 left in the third quarter because of lightning.
The scores by Hurts and Barkley made the Eagles the first defending Super Bowl champions to score a touchdown on the first three drives of the season since Green Bay in 2011. Jake Elliott put the finishing touches on the scoring with a 58-yard field goal.
Williams had a pair of one-yard touchdown runs - the first on the opening drive after Carter was ejected - and Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 41 and 53 yards.
What next?
The Cowboys play their opening home game of the season in Week Two when they host the New York Giants, while the Eagles head to Arrowhead for a Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs seven months after denying Andy Reid's side a third straight title with a 40-22 victory in New Orleans.
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