Philadelphia Eagles 24-20 Dallas Cowboys
Super Bowl champions the Philadelphia Eagles kicked off the NFL season with a 24-20 win over divisional rivals the Dallas Cowboys.
A match which began with Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter being ejected for spitting ended after midnight because of a lengthy weather delay.
The season was just six seconds old when Carter was thrown out of the game before the first snap after an exchange of words with Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
It ended with Carter spitting on his opponent and being forced to leave the game.
Helped by the accompanying 15-yard penalty, the Cowboys struck first blood on the opening drive with Javonte Williams going over from a yard.
The Eagles responded on their opening drive, quarterback Jalen Hurts grabbing his first running touchdown from four yards.
The second quarter proved a repeat of the first – Williams again scoring from a yard out, Hurts once more responding from eight yards.
Brandon Aubrey broke the pattern with a 41-yard field goal to put the Cowboys ahead 17-14, but Saquon Barkley put the Eagles in front for the first time with a 10-yard touchdown run with 51 seconds remaining in the first half.
There was still time for the Cowboys to cut the gap to 21-20, Aubrey on target again from 53 yards as the clock ran out.
After offences dominated the first half, defences took control of the second – Jake Elliott claiming the only points with a field goal from 58 yards midway through the third quarter.
Minutes later, the teams were forced off with lightning detected close to the stadium.
They returned 65 minutes later, but neither side were able to find much fluency on the ball and with Prescott able to find his target on fourth down late on, the Eagles were able to run the clock out.
Carter owned up to his "mistake" afterwards.
"You know it was a mistake that happened on my side, and it just won't happen again," Carter said.
"I feel bad for just my teammates and the fans out there. You know, I'm doing it for them. I'm doing it for my family also but the fans, they show the most love. You heard them out there and not being able to start the game to finish the game just (expletive) me up, but it won't happen again."
Carter could face additional discipline, possibly including a suspension. While not specifically mentioning spitting, the NFL told teams this offseason that respect for opponents will be a bigger emphasis this season. NBC reported that Carter's actions could fall under this emphasis.
"If I get that text or that call and have that conversation, we will handle it," Carter said.
Prescott also found himself on the defensive after video replays showed the quarterback spitting in the direction of Carter prior to the incident.
"I was just looking at him and I was right here in between two linemen," Prescott said. "I guess I needed to spit, and I wasn't going to spit on my linemen, so I just spit ahead.
"He asked or goes, 'Are you trying to spit on me?' At that point, I felt like he was insulting me. I wouldn't spit on somebody and I'm damn sure not trying to spit on you. We're trying to play a game and I'm wondering why you're trying to mess with the rookie (Tyler Booker).
"I step through and say the words, ‘Why the hell,' excuse me probably even more colorful but ‘why would I spit on you for?' He just spit on me in that moment, and it was more of a surprise than anything. The refs obviously saw it and threw a flag. I was like, ‘Hell yeah, we get 15 yards to start the game off.' I didn't realize he was getting ejected. Unfortunate that he did and hell of a player."
