A new season of the National Football League is officially underway, with Thursday night delivering the NFL Kickoff Game between the Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles. While it’s important not to overreact to a single game, we can come out of the NFL Kickoff Game with a few takeaways and impressions.
Let’s dive into the winners and losers from Thursday night’s Cowboys vs Eagles game.
Winner: Jalen Hurts’ Builds off Super Bowl MVP Performance
NFL Kickoff Game, Dallas Cowboys vs Philadelphia Eagles
Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
One of the more surprising things from Jalen Hurts’ last season, before his Super Bowl MVP performance, was that he didn’t seem to be quite as explosive as a rusher. In his first six regular-season games last season, the Eagles quarterback averaged just 3.5 yards per carry. In the Super Bowl, we saw the old Hurts. We saw that dangerous dual-threat quarterback again in the NFL Kickoff Game. Hurts used his mobility to evade pressure, extending plays in the pocket and running with the football when needed.
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Thursday marked his first regular-season game with 50-plus rushing yards and multiple rushing touchdowns since Nov. 10 (Week 10), and he put on a clinic for passing efficiency. It’s the kind of performance on the national stage you’d expect from an NFL MVP candidate. Maybe this will be that year for Hurts.
Loser: Jalen Carter’s Costly Immaturity
NFL Kickoff Game, Dallas Cowboys vs Philadelphia Eagles
Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
When he’s on the field, Jalen Carter is one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL. A second-team All-Pro selection in 2024, the 24-year-old will be even more integral this season because of Philadelphia’s weakness at edge rusher. That’s what makes him spitting on Dak Prescott, before the Eagles’ defense even took a snap, so costly. It helped Dallas run with relative ease against Philadelphia’s front, putting up 50 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half. Just as devastating for the Eagles’ defense, that absence on the interior often gave Prescott a clean pocket to step into when he threw. Carter’s a phenomenal player, but his decision-making and immaturity remain issues.
Related: NFL World Reacts to Jalen Carter’s Ejection for Spitting on Cowboys’ QB Dak Prescott
Loser: Dallas Cowboys’ Absent Edge Rush without Micah Parsons
NFL Kickoff Game, Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
No one, except maybe Jerry Jones, should be surprised by how bad the Cowboys’ pass rush is without Micah Parsons. Over the last four seasons, Dallad had the best defense in the NFL with Parsons on the field and the worst defense in football when he was off it. While the Eagles do have one of the best NFL offensive lines in 2025, the ease with which their tackles erased Dallas’ edge rushers should be alarming to the franchise. Those first-round picks could eventually land the Cowboys a blue-chip edge rusher, but they already had one and then Jones decided to trade away his future Hall of Famer.
Related: NFL Defense Rankings 2025, Projecting All 32 Defenses This Season
Winner: Dallas Goedert Rewards Eagles for Keeping Him
NFL Kickoff Game, Dallas Cowboys vs Philadelphia Eagles
Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
A few months ago, Philadelphia was shopping tight end Dallas Goedert, but a deal never materialized. Coming off his worst year since his rookie season, Goedert was an essential part of the Eagles’ passing game in Week 1. The 30-year-old tight end led the team in targets and receptions, routinely coming up with catches to make short down-and-distances for the Eagles’ offense. After finishing last season with just two games in which he had seven-plus receptions, Goedert is already halfway there in 2025 with this performance.
Read More: NFL Power Rankings 2025, Evaluating all 32 Teams Before Week 1
Loser: A.J. Brown on a Milk Carton
NFL Kickoff Game, Dallas Cowboys vs Philadelphia Eagles
Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
A.J. Brown had more warmup routines (three) than he did targets in the NFL Kickoff game. Quiet games aren’t unusual for Brown, even against Dallas, as he had just 36 yards against this defense in their last meeting on Dec. 29. On Thursday night, though, Brown was practically non-existent in the Eagles’ passing game. Hurts attempted plenty of passes, but none of them were thrown in Brown’s direction. It’s bizarre to see such a quiet game from a wideout who has earned second-team All-Pro honors in three consecutive seasons.
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Winner: Jihaad Campbell Makes Big Plays in NFL Debut
NFL Kickoff Game, Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The NFL let it happen again. Jihaad Campbell was a top-20 prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft and the rest of the league let him fall to Philadelphia with the 31st overall pick. Sure enough, filling in this season for Nakobe Dean, Campbell immediately showed why the Eagles coaching staff is so high on him. He got a big pass deflection in coverage and then forced the Miles Sanders fumble inside the Eagles’ 12-yard line. Philadelphia seems to have another young, emerging difference-maker on its defense.
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NFL, MLB & college football writer for Sportsnaut. Graduated from San Diego State University with BA in Journalism, 2019. ... More about Matt Johnson