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The 2025 Philadelphia Eagles season started with… a loogie? On opening night, it was truly a Tale of Two Jalens.
After the Eagles lost Ben VanSumeren on the opening kickoff with what looked like a serious injury, Jalen Carter was ejected before the Cowboys’ first offensive snap for spitting on Dak Prescott. Like, right in front of the official and everything. As it turned out, Prescott spit in Carter’s direction first. But a minute later, Carter was ejected from the game and got walked to the Eagles locker room by Big Dom DiSandro.
The Eagles’ ominous start to the season continued. We thought the 2025 Eagles defense might take a step back after embarrassing Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs when we last saw them in the Super Bowl, and that was very much the case. The Eagles defense did not get a stop on the Cowboys’ first four possessions (two touchdowns, two field goals). There will killer penalties all over the place, 93 for the Eagles in the first half. Adoree’ Jackson does not look long for the second cornerback spot.
There was even a lightning delay, for the second straight opening night at The Linc following a Super Bowl victory. When the Eagles unveil a banner, Mother Nature comes calling.
But Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense was up to the challenge. Hurts was accurate, and led the Eagles to 24 points on their first four offensive possessions. He capped two of them off with scrambling touchdowns, not the Tush Push that Eagles fans have been accustomed to.
Later in the game, the offense stalled out. Landon Dickerson had to leave with an injury, and Saquon Barkley’s running lanes disappeared. Then, the defense stepped up with four straight stops to seal a 24-20 win. It was not pretty, but the Philadelphia Eagles are 1-0 on the season.
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EJ Smith
For better or worse, this year’s Eagles team looked quite similar to the one we saw for most of last year. There were some key differences. An undisciplined night underscored by Jalen Carter getting ejected for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and some new wrinkles from first-time offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo come to mind. Still, the bottom line remained the same: The Eagles are one of the most talented teams in the NFL with one of the best defensive coordinator’s in the NFL. With some arrhythmic spells for the passing game and coverage woes from Adoree’ Jackson, it wasn’t always pretty. It wasn’t last year, either, but this team showed once again it can major in the matchup advantages despite the minor hiccups along the way.
Bo Wulf
It was the best of Jalen, it was the wettest of Jalen, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of stupidity, it was the season of Lightning, it was the season of Defending, it was the spring of Hurts, it was the winter of da spit, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were seeing flashes from Heaven, we were all sending the Cowboys the other way – in short, the Jalens were so far like the present period, that some of their noisiest commentators insisted on them being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison.
Weird night!
Fran Duffy
This game was nothing if not eventful! But even if I’m focusing solely on the X’s and O’s, there are a handful of things that caught my eye that I’m excited to watch back and chart off the film. We saw an Eagles offense that put Jalen Hurts under center more often than I can ever remember seeing. Did Dallas do anything to take away AJ Brown throughout the game? Obviously all eyes will be on CB2 opposite Quinyon Mitchell. But what did Q and Cooper DeJean look like in Year 2 against Dallas’ dynamic receivers?
One thing I can say with near certainty is that Jalen Hurts was phenomenal. Saquon Barkley also looked like himself. I loved what I saw from the Eagles offensive line, but I want to see what it looked like on tape. Rookie Jihaad Campbell really popped multiple times on TV. I can’t wait to go through this film on Friday.
Jamie Lynch
My instant reaction is WTF DAF&^%&#$$)))__!!!!! Jalen Carter?
That was hands down the strangest start to a football game that I can recall. More odd than Ike Reese with the Falcons picking a fight with his ex-teammate, Jeremiah Trotter & getting him ejected from the game before it even started. Jalen Carter actually made it onto the field, but never to an actual down of football! That’s unacceptable & immature & the baby rhino let his teammates down.
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That set the vibe for the game off from the jump. Javonte Williams attacked them right up the middle right away, the instant attacking wasted no time. Adoree Jackson appears to not be the answer at CB2 after two drives by the Cowboys. I’VE SEEN ENOUGH!
Rich Hofmann
Tale of two halves for the Eagles.
The offense bailed out a defense that was a mess in the first half. We saw Adoree’ Jackson get picked on repeatedly and the pass rush could not get home against Dak Prescott. But Jalen Hurts and the offense moved the ball down the field and answered every one of Dallas’ scoring drives.
Vic Fangio and the Eagles defense certainly have some work to do, but they came up with four straight stops in the second half when the offense stalled out. Jalen Hurts and the offense were able to ice the game late, as A.J. Brown finally got in the stat sheet. There are no style points early on, and the Eagles escaped opening night with a 1-0 record.
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