Cowboys-Eagles in 2025 NFL Kickoff Game: What We Learned from Philadelphia's 24-20 win

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• REWATCH: Cowboys-Eagles on NFL+ Premium
• READ: Eagles' Carter ejected for spitting on Dak
• READ: 'Efficient' Hurts propels Eagles to Week 1 win
• READ: Lamb takes 'full accountability' for 'terrible' drops
• READ: Kickoff Game suspended during third quarter due to lightning

1. Carter ejected before first snap, hurting his team. It was an absolutely bizarre opening kickoff to the 2025 season, with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jalen Carter ejected for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott prior to the first actual snap. Eagles fullback Ben VanSumeren was injured on the opening kickoff and, during the delay while VanSumeren was being tended to, Carter walked over to Prescott and appeared to spit on his jersey -- with a referee a few feet away. That took the air out of the building with firework smoke still wafting in the air. The Cowboys promptly marched 53 yards in three minutes to put the Eagles in an early hole, and Dallas scored on its first four possessions. Carter has been a terrific player for the Eagles, and even if Dak egged him on, Carter’s selfish decision hurt his team. NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported the league is reviewing the incident for potential additional discipline. The Eagles won the game -- barely -- with Carter's teammates bailing him out. But this story will linger.
2. Prescott stands tall in loss, but CeeDee’s drops haunt Cowboys. Dak Prescott appeared to revel in Jalen Carter’s disrespect, carving up the Eagles defense early on. Prescott and CeeDee Lamb caught fire early, and Dak’s pocket movement and ballhandling were strong -- better than the last time we saw him in 2024, when Prescott suffered a season-ending hamstring injury. There was little sign of it Thursday, even with the challenging weather, as Prescott escaped pressure multiple times. His most miraculous play was taking down Quinyon Mitchell -- the first tackle of Dak’s career -- after Miles Sanders' fumble, possibly saving a touchdown. But the Cowboys had every chance to win the game in Brian Schottenheimer’s debut, and three big fourth-quarter drops from Lamb were drive killers. The first drop on third-and-10 ended a drive; the second one prevented a 40-yard completion into the red zone with less than three minutes left. The final play was a tough one, but Lamb separated downfield and couldn’t haul in Prescott’s fourth-down heave, effectively ending the game. The team hung tougher than many expected but came up short on offense.
3. Eagles offense bogged down late as Brown barely avoids goose egg. Early in the game, Jalen Hurts was calmly picking Dallas apart like it was a 7-on-7 drill, and when he wasn’t doing that, he was gutting the Cowboys with his scrambling. Even with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith having little impact, the Eagles were moving the ball with ease early. But the hourlong lightning delay also appeared to come at the worst time for the Eagles, with rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell forcing a massive turnover against ex-Eagle Miles Sanders in the red zone just prior to play being stopped. After play resumed, the Cowboys forced the first of three straight punts, including two three-and-outs. Brown played 54 snaps, ran 23 routes and yet saw nary a target until catching an 8-yard pass to put the game away in the final minute. But the Eagles really hit the wall offensively in the second half, seeing Will Shipley go down in the first half and Landon Dickerson in the second, failing to return after the delay due to a pre-existing back injury. Was the weather to blame? Perhaps. The Eagles will relish the mini-bye after a tougher-than-expected opener.
4. Cowboys D struggled initially without Micah, then made multiple stands. In their first three defensive series after trading Micah Parsons, the Cowboys allowed three straight touchdowns. Hurts had all night to throw in the first half, with the Cowboys -- mostly rushing four -- generating only two pressures in the first 30 minutes. The Cowboys were losing contain badly on the edge and overpursuing, taking poor angles to the ball and missing tackles. The Cowboys struggled defensively last year with Parsons out with injury, with their pressure rate, sack rate and passer rating allowed all worse when he was off the field, so Thursday’s early struggles were not a complete shock. But Dallas defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus started bringing more pressure in the second half, and the results were shockingly good. Even if you argue the field conditions muddled things up, the Cowboys ratcheted up the pressure significantly after halftime, allowing only 86 yards and three points. It’s too bad they couldn’t unleash that kind of pressure early. What kind of defense do the Cowboys have? We don’t yet know, but it’s far too soon to write them off.
5. Eagles defense got stops when needed, but they were stressed. The Jalen Carter penalty seemed to cast a pall on the Eagles defense early on. The Cowboys moved the ball readily on their first five drives, with four scores and a Miles Sanders fumble in the red zone. That was a heck of a play by rookie Jihaad Campbell in his NFL debut. Much like the Cowboys, the Eagles looked more competent defensively after halftime -- and after the rains reemerged. But they also committed 110 yards in penalties, nearly all of them on defense. With Carter out, Jordan Davis was forced to play 50 of the 56 snaps. Even after losing more than 30 pounds this offseason and making a few plays, he also looked gassed at times. The Eagles also had issues with their corners opposite Mitchell, rotating Adoree' Jackson and Jakorian Bennett. Mitchell had to rotate over to covering Lamb in the second half -- and Lamb still had chances to make plays. We knew the Eagles defense would take time to adjust following some offseason losses, and the second half was encouraging, but there are some trouble areas to address. 

Next Gen Stats Insight for Cowboys-Eagles (via NFL Pro): Jalen Hurts’ 4-yard TD run in the first quarter was his first on a scramble since Week 15, 2023. All 14 of his rushing TDs during the 2024 regular season -- and all five during the postseason -- came on sneaks, tush pushes or designed runs. Hurts’ second TD rushing on Thursday also came on a scramble.

NFL Research: The Cowboys had a total of six rushing touchdowns in the 2024 season, and never more than one in any game. On Thursday, Javonte Williams ran for touchdowns on the Cowboys’ first two drives.