PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – SEPTEMBER 04: Jalen Carter #98 of the Philadelphia Eagles walks off the field after getting ejected for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Dallas Cowboys during the first quarter in the game at Lincoln Financial Field on September 04, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Getty Images
By any measure, the Philadelphia Eagles’ season-opener against the Dallas Cowboys came with an inordinate measure of weirdness to go along with their 24-20 victory in Week 1. Jalen Carter made sure of that before a single play was called.
Carter’s spitting at Dak Prescott and subsequent ejection provided the biggest talking point out of the game, but both the moment itself and how the Eagles will handle it are likely to provide more insight into what it will mean for Philadelphia going forward.
There are multiple elements here. One is how the Eagles choose to discipline Carter, if at all, something head coach Nick Sirianni said he doesn’t plan to reveal publicly.
“Yeah, obviously, we had some personal fouls today,” Sirianni told reporters postgame. “I want these guys to play with great energy, great tenacity while doing it, within the rules of the game. So we’ll address that. We talked about that, obviously, at halftime because I felt like that’s a really good offense and every one of their drives in that first half that resulted in points were all penalties… everything that we do is going to be held in-house. Again, he knows, and we needed him out there today and he wasn’t out there against a really good offense. I was really proud of the way the guys stepped up and played.”
It is the latter part of Sirianni’s statement that reflects the impact this moment will have going forward. The Eagles were relying on Carter to be a key difference-maker on the defensive line while Jordan Davis continued to gradually ramp up his snap counts. Instead, Davis played 87% of snaps Thursday night, and could be asked to do something similar in Week 2 if either the Eagles or the NFL decide Carter’s actions require further disciplinary action. At least in Week 1, Gabe Hall was largely a non-factor for Philadelphia.
“I thought Jordan got some good pressures. [DT] Moro [Ojomo], I’ll have to watch the tape there, but I know he played stout in there. Gabe Hall came in and gave us some good reps. But, we need Jalen Carter on the field and, like I said, we will keep everything in-house, but we have to get all these things corrected as a whole. As you guys know, I want them– you see how I coach with emotion, and I want them to play with emotion, and that’s what I kind of say all the time is you have to do it within the rules of the game. We need everybody out there to help us be successful.”
In many ways, the victory in spite of many factors which are unlikely to carry forward — Carter and the lightning delay which held up the game for 65 minutes most prominent but not alone among them — was a useful sign that the Eagles can win without everything, or close to everything, going right for them.
On the offensive side of the ball, Jalen Hurts looked every bit the Super Bowl championship quarterback he was last season, completing 19-of-23 passes for 152 yards. Perhaps even more important, on a night Dallas managed to largely take A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith out of the game, with the two wideouts combining for just four targets, four catches and 24 yards, he diversified his game nicely. His 14 rushes for 62 yards and 2 touchdowns meant not only that the Eagles succeeded inside the red zone, but that on a night their primary receivers weren’t getting open, Saquon Barkley wasn’t asked to carry the kind of load he did, routinely, last season.
“Yeah, that’s a good defense and defensive coordinator. Matt Eberflus has been a long-time defensive coordinator, has a lot of experience calling defenses,” Sirianni said of Hurts’ night. “They did a good job of matching some of our routes. They did a good job of matching some things and taking away A.J. We had some different things to him that Jalen had to get through some progressions, and I think Jalen did a really nice job getting through his progressions tonight and then made some plays with his legs as well.”
Perhaps the most encouraging sign of all was the initial performance of Jake Elliott, the longtime mainstay at kicker for Philadelphia, but who saw uncharacteristic struggles on long field goals last season, hitting just 1-of-7 from 50 yards or longer, and the lone make was 50 yards exactly.
Last night? He hit his first attempt, from 58 yards out, and it had room to spare. A unit revitalized by long snaller Charlie Hughlett would make the 2025 Eagles an even tougher opponent than last year’s title-winning team.
“How mentally tough is Jake Elliott? This is a guy that, it’s not all on him, but it appears to be all on him every single time he kicks,” Sirianni said. “Had some misses in the Rams game, and I think he had one in the NFC championship, and then he does what he does in the Super Bowl, and then he’s had a great off season. Then this week, we charted all his kicks, and I had a lot of confidence going into the game…
“He’s one of the most clutch guys I’ve ever been around. His mental toughness is something that kids and all sorts of athletes should study at all times and say, man, how does this guy handle the ups and the downs? Everyone’s saying how bad he is, and then he comes back and he responds. That’s what it’s about; being able to respond, learn, and get better from. That’s what I think he saw with Jake and his mental toughness.”
He’ll get a chance to display that toughness once again next week: the Eagles travel in Week 2 to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs.