The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys 24-20 within the 2025-26 NFL common season opener. Philly was in a position to outlast Dallas after the sport was paused for over an hour due to a lightning storm.
Penalties additionally performed an enormous position on this contest. There have been six infractions referred to as within the first quarter alone, leading to 76 penalty yards. General, these groups mixed for 152 yards of penalties.
Regardless of all of the flags that had been thrown, this recreation began with 4 straight landing drives. Philly and Dallas put up virtually 400 mixed yards within the first half. Nevertheless, the offensive fireworks slowed considerably as a consequence of a lightning storm delay within the third quarter, which paused the sport for about an hour and 5 minutes.
One of many greatest moments of the night time got here earlier than both group ran an offensive play. After the opening kickoff, Eagles star defensive lineman Jalen Carter was ejected from the sport for apparently spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who was seen spitting in Carter’s path instantly earlier than the incident befell. His absence clearly impacted Philly’s capability to cease Dallas’ offense, which marched down the sphere in slightly over three minutes to attain a landing and take a 7-0 lead on the primary possession of the night. With that rating, the Cowboys matched their opening drive landing complete for the whole lot of the 2024-25 season.
The Eagles didn’t waver within the face of early adversity, although. Philly put collectively a dominant ten-play, 65-yard drive that was topped off with a four-yard landing scramble by quarterback and Tremendous Bowl LIX MVP Jalen Hurts to tie issues up 7-7.
The Cowboys answered again with their very own landing, thanks partly to a 34-yard defensive cross interference penalty on the Eagles. Two performs later, Dallas working again Javonte Williams pounded his approach into the top zone for a one-yard landing run to reclaim the lead, placing the Cowboys forward 14-7. Williams completed the night with 54 speeding yards and two touchdowns in his Dallas Cowboys regular-season debut.
In the meantime, Philly working again Saquon Barkley picked up proper the place he left off final season, when he ran for two,005 yards, the eighth-most speeding yards ever in a single season. Tonight, he had 60 speeding yards, 24 receiving yards, and a landing on the bottom.
Jalen Hurts was a one-man present within the first half. He opened the sport by going six for six passing with 31 yards, 43 speeding yards, and two speeding touchdowns on Philly’s first two offensive possessions. His second TD tied the sport up 14-14 within the second quarter.
Following a 41-yard Cowboys subject aim, Philly responded with a 51-yard reception by extensive receiver Jahan Dotson. That ultimately led to a ten-yard speeding landing from Saquon Barkley, giving the Eagles their first lead of the night time, 21-17. Nevertheless, Dallas would get off one other subject aim in lower than a minute, bringing the rating to 21-20 at halftime.
The offensive explosion continued into the second half with a 58-yard subject aim from Jake Elliott to increase Philly’s result in 24-20. This was a noteworthy achievement for Elliott since he solely made two of his 9 makes an attempt final season from 50+ yards.
The sport’s solely turnover didn’t come till late within the third quarter. Eagles first-round draft decide Jihaad Campbell stripped Dallas working again Miles Sanders of the soccer. That fumble was scooped up by Philly cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, ending a Cowboys drive that made all of it the way in which all the way down to the Eagles’ ten yard line. That signifies Mitchell’s first fumble restoration on the NFL degree.
After the fumble, the sport went into an hour-long climate delay, with play resuming round 11:30 p.m. EDT. The pause affected each groups as a result of Philadelphia and Dallas mixed for 5 straight punts after seven consecutive scoring drives to open the sport.
Whereas trailing by 4 factors, the Cowboys had been confronted with a 4th and three from their very own 44 yard line with two minutes left on the clock. Sadly for Dallas followers, extensive receiver CeeDee Lamb dropped a deep cross close to the sideline to all however give the Eagles the victory. As much as that time, Lamb had recorded seven receptions for 110 yards.
Philly acquired the ball again and was pressured into a third and three on Dallas’ aspect of the sphere. Nevertheless, Jalen Hurts picked up the primary down along with his legs, securing the win for the Eagles. With that victory, defending Tremendous Bowl champions are actually 16-5 of their regular-season openers during the last 21 years.
Each groups can be off for the following ten days. In Week Two, the Cowboys will face the New York Giants at dwelling, whereas the Eagles will go on the highway to face the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs in a Tremendous Bowl LIX rematch.
*Writer’s notice: all info and statistics are tracked in actual time and are supplied by the sport’s broadcaster, NFL.com, and ESPN.com*
