The 2025 NFL season kicked off on Thursday night up in the City of Brotherly Love as the Dallas Cowboys fell to the defending Super Bowl Champs in the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20.
While the game itself was certainly a very entertaining affair, the biggest story of the night actually took place before the first snap, as star Eagles defensive lineman and former Georgia standout Jalen Carter was ejected for clearly spitting on star Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
The initial view suggested that Carter had initiated the incident completely unprovoked; however, a separate angle revealed later in the broadcast that Prescott actually appeared to instigate the incident by spitting in the general direction of his fellow SEC alumni.
The clip clearly shows that Dak definitely spat in the general direction of Carter, but when asked about the incident postgame, he denied any intention of purposely instigating the whole ordeal.
Prescott claimed he was spitting on the ground — something he does often throughout games — and was trying to avoid his own teammates. Carter then asked if Prescott was intending to spit on him, a question that offended the former Mississippi State passer.
“I wouldn’t spit on somebody,” Prescott said. “I stepped through [and] I actually said words like, ‘The hell — excuse me, but probably even more colorful — what would I need to spit on you for?’ And he just spit on me in that moment. It was more of a surprise than anything.”
Regardless of whether or not Prescott meant to kick off the entire ordeal, it has quickly become the first big headline of the 2025 season, and has also added another chapter to this extremely bitter rivalry.
