The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys played a weird, wild opening night football game on Thursday (and into Friday). The Eagles were fortunate to have more points than the Cowboys when there was no time left on the clock. As always, win, lose, or tie, we hand out 10 awards.
### **1) The 'Spitgate' Award 😗💦: Jalen Carter and Dak Prescott**
After the opening kickoff, there was an extended delay while trainers attended to an injured Ben VanSumeren. Dak Prescott and Jalen Carter had an exchange of words, and Carter spit on Prescott.
Carter was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected from the game before he ever played a snap.
The Eagles' defense was clearly impacted by the loss of Carter. The Cowboys' offensive line no longer had to worry about doubling an elite player all game, and the rest of the Eagles' linemen didn't get the favorable one-on-ones all day like they're accustomed to.
So why did Carter spit on Prescott? He reportedly perceived that Prescott spit at the Eagles' defense. Video showed that Prescott did indeed spit in the direction of the Eagles' defense, and then he smiled at Carter thereafter.
But obviously, you just can't spit on another player. The NFL hasn't traditionally suspended players for spitting incidents in the past. We'll see if they break precedent here. At a minimum, Carter is certain to get a hefty fine, and deservedly so.
### **2) The 'Efficiency' Award: Jalen Hurts**
Hurts was 19 of 23 for 152 yards, 0 TDs, and 0 INTs. He didn't make mistakes and he made a bunch of plays with his legs, rushing 14 times for 62 yards and 2 TDs. I'm sure there will be some who find fault with Hurts' performance because he didn't put up gaudy yardage numbers, but if Hurts plays all season like he did Thursday night, the Eagles are going to win a lot of football games.
### **3) The 'Strong Start, Slow Finish' Award ⚡: The Eagles' offense**
In 2024, the Eagles' offense didn't score a point in the first quarter until Week 9. Before they finally put point on the board in the first quarter, they had 13 possessions, 59 plays, 175 yards (2.97 yards per play), 5 three-and-outs, 3 turnovers, and, of course, 0 points.
In 2025, the offense scored touchdowns on each of their first three drives, and looked as though they were going to score at will all night on the Cowboys' defense. But once they got their sea legs, the Cowboys' defense did a better job against the Eagles' run game, they started generating pressure on Hurts, and both Nick Sirianni and Hurts credited their secondary with doing a good job of pattern matching. The Eagles punted on four consecutive possessions in the second half.
### **4) The 'Slow Start, Strong Finish' Award 🌩️: The Eagles' defense**
The Cowboys' first four possessions:
Their last four possessions:
1. Fumble
2. Punt
3. Punt
4. Turnover on downs
With 4:44 left in the third quarter, play was suspended because there were lightning strikes in the area. The Eagles and Cowboys scored a combined 44 points before the suspended play, 0 points after.
### **5) The 'Thanks, Old Friend' Award 🙏: Miles Sanders**
On the Cowboys' first drive of the second half, Sanders broke into the open field and had a clear path to the end zone, but he was tracked down by Zack Baun, just inside the 10.
Later in the drive, Sanders fumbled and Quinyon Mitchell recovered, earning the first defensive stop of the game, by either team.
Byron Young and Jihaad Campbell were both in on that forced fumble.
Baun and Campbell both made impressive plays on Thursday night. We'll probably show that a little more in depth in a day or two.
### **6) The 'Invisible Until It Really Mattered' Award 🫥: A.J. Brown**
During the first 58 minutes of the game, Brown didn't get a single target. But on a 2nd and 11 from the Dallas 45 with under two minutes to play, Brown caught an 8-yard pass from Hurts, putting the Eagles in a manageable 3rd and 3, which they converted to seal the game.
Hurts called Brown's 8-yard catch the play of the day. I wouldn't go that far, but it certainly was a clutch play that helped the Eagles win.
It's worth noting that Brown missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury.
### **7) The 'Trustworthy' Award : Jahan Dotson**
With Brown out for most of camp, Dotson got a lot of work in with Hurts, and they seemed to build a rapport throughout the summer. We saw that translate to a real game on Thursday night, when Dotson caught all three of his targets for 59 yards, including a 51-yard bomb.
If Dotson can be a consistent weapon for Hurts, that will be huge for the Eagles' offense.
### **8) The 'Kicking Ass' Award 🥾🍑: Jake Elliott and Braden Mann**
After a season in which he went 1/7 on kicks of 50+ yards, Elliott drilled a 58 yarder with plenty of distance to spare.
Mann also punted extraordinarily well, not allowing star return specialist KaVontae Turpin any real opportunity to make an impact.
### **9) The 'Ruh Roh' Award 😬: Adoree' Jackson**
Jackson had a rough debut as the Eagles' starting CB2. He gave up a lot of catches, and in run support, well, just look at the long Miles Sanders run we posted above.
The Eagles need a better player at that spot, and quickly.
### **10) The 'Rematch' Award 🏹: The Chiefs**
The Eagles will travel to Kansas City Week 2 for a rematch of Super Bowl LIX against the Chiefs. They'll hope that Jalen Carter makes the trip and plays in that game.
But for now, the Eagles can rest up and enjoy their 5-0 record in Week 1 games under Sirianni.