Eagles Start Strong in Title Defense

by Jake Lax, September 09, 2025

Football is officially back. The 2025 NFL season kicked off with a divisional rival battle as the Dallas Cowboys took on the reigning champion Philadelphia Eagles under the lights of Thursday Night Football. Fresh off a dominant Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs, who were chasing a historic three-peat, Philadelphia enters the season as the clear favorite to repeat.

The Eagles stumbled out of the gate when star defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected just seconds into the game for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Carter, a dominant run-stopper, and disruptive force in the trenches, is a player that offenses must build their blocking schemes around. This ejection changed the Dallas offensive game plan for the entire game.

This momentum carried on for the Cowboys’ first drive after a couple of runs from running back Javonte Williams, getting up the middle with ease. Dak Prescott connected on a 32-yard reception to All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. Following the big completion, Prescott looked to find Lamb again, this time in the endzone. Unfortunately for Ceedee Lamb fantasy owners, he was held in the endzone, but drew the pass interference flag. Dallas ended up cashing in on a 1-yard run by Javonte Williams to give them the 7-0 lead on the opening drive.

The Eagle opening Drive saw a lot of runs and small chunk plays. Saquon Barkley picked up right where he left off last season, gaining 21 yards on the first drive. A big 20-yard run from Will Shipley set up Philly right within five yards of the endzone. This time, the Eagles’ offense saw their quarterback, Jalen Hurts, take it in himself from four yards out to tie the game at seven apiece.

The Cowboys’ offense got right back to work and picked up right where they left off. Prescott continued to look Lamb’s way and found him for an 18-yard gain. After a couple of Javonte Williams positive runs, Prescott connected a bullet to Ceedee Lamb for 26 yards on a clutch third-down play. Prescott finally targeted another receiver, and this time it was George Pickens, in his first game as a Cowboy. The pass was deep and intended to lead Pickens into the end zone; however, he was held all over by Philadelphia cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, resulting in a pass interference call and setting up Dallas in the red zone yet again. The Cowboys were able to punch it in again with a 1-yard Javonte Williams rushing touchdown, giving him his second of the game, just as the second quarter began.

In a slug fest, the Eagles’ offense got right back to what they do best, running the ball down the field. After a couple of short passes to tight end Dallas Goedert and short runs by Hurts and Barkley, the Eagles were in the red zone yet again. This time, Hurts dropped back to pass and couldn’t find a receiver open, so he scrambled it in for an 8-yard touchdown. The game was tied at 14, and it seemed like every drive would end with either Hurts or Williams running it in.

The next Dallas drive was cut short by three straight incompletions from Dak Prescott. They ultimately had to settle for a 41-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey to give them a 3-point lead. With two minutes left in the first half, Philadelphia got going quickly. A huge 51-yard pass from Hurts to wide receiver Jahan Dotson set them up at the Dallas 26-yard line. It was finally time for Saquon to get his touchdown as he ran it in from 10 yards out, gaining the lead at 21-17. It seemed like the Eagles would go into the half with the lead, but Dallas still had 50 seconds to work with. A no-huddle offense saw Dak pick up 44 passing yards and set up Aubrey for another field goal. This time from 53 yards out, Aubrey hit the field goal as the half expired, bringing the score to 21-20 Eagles.

Lighting Slows the Pace

The third quarter opened with a classic Eagles drive, running the ball down the field. This time, AJ Dillion got in on some touches. The drive ultimately stalled when Hurts was sacked by the Cowboys’ Marshawn Kneeland. The sack set them back for a third and eighteen, which they couldn’t convert. However, Jake Elliot was able to knock in a 58-yard field goal to keep Philly rolling.

Dallas needed a good drive to take the lead in the third quarter. They got a huge run by running back Miles Sanders, 49 yards to bring them to the Philadelphia 11-yard line. Sanders did his best to get them down there; however, he ended up fumbling right by the goal line. The fumble was recovered by Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who would’ve had a touchdown if Dak Prescott hadn’t been able to drag him down. The Eagles’ defense decided to have a little fun with their celebration, recreating the tush push in the endzone.

The unfortunateness started to unfold as lightning started striking around the area. The delay was announced with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter. The Eagles were up 24-20 at the time. The delay lasted for around 45 minutes, and when play started back up, both offenses were slow. The fourth quarter saw the teams’ trading punts. The big ending was Dallas getting the ball with 3 minutes left and only down 4. There were multiple big play drops by Ceedee Lamb, which ultimately will look over his performance. Dallas ended up failing to convert on fourth and three, turning the ball over on downs from another Ceedee Lamb drop. The Eagles were then able to run out the clock and steal a 24-20 victory over the Cowboys.