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Jalen Hurts and Philadelphia Eagles hold off Dallas Cowboys in a bizarre 2025 NFL season opener
The 2025 NFL season got off to a bizarre start Thursday night when Philadelphia Eagles’ star defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected seconds into the game due to unsportsmanlike conduct for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Then, with 4:44 left in the third quarter, the game endured a weather delay of nearly an hour only adding to the strangeness.
But with oddities in the air, Jalen Hurts was once again a reliable constant. The Super Bowl MVP quarterback rushed for two touchdowns in the first half and delivered a decisive four-yard scramble on a crucial third down with under two minutes left to seal the Eagles’ 24-20 home win over the Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The 2025 NFL season-opening game was very much a tale of two halves as the contest saw scores on the first eight drives powered by a pair of rushing touchdowns each by Hurts and Cowboys running back Javonte Williams, in addition to a TD on the ground by Saquon Barkley.
That offense helped the Eagles carry a 21-20 edge into halftime. Jake Elliott’s 58-yard field goal to end a 10-play, 32-yard Eagles’ drive with 8:30 left in the third quarter would be the lone score in the second half as the teams suffered through close to a 60-minute delay due to lightning in the area and weren’t able to find the end zone when play resumed.
Although Carter’s selfish act left a giant hole on the Eagles’ defensive line and there are legitimate concerns for the team on that side of the ball, the defending Super Bowl champs came up with the stops needed late to secure the win.
That, and Cowboys’ star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb painfully helped. Though he finished with seven receptions for 110 yards, Lamb dropped three pinpoint passes from Prescott during the fourth quarter.
After the Cowboys turned it over on downs, Hurts made something of nothing by manufacturing a four-yard rush with 1:45 left in the game, allowing the Eagles (1-0) to kneel out the victory from there as the QB finished with 152 yards passing and 62 yards on the ground with two touchdowns.
Barkley rushed for 60 yards and one TD on 18 carries.
Prescott aired it out for 188 yards without a touchdown in a loss which felt like the Cowboys (0-1) let an opportunity slide.
The Eagles will visit Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of Super Bowl LIX for Week 2.
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