Jalen Carter apologised to his teammates while Dak Prescott pleaded his innocence after the Philadelphia Eagles star was ejected for spitting on the Dallas Cowboys quarterback in Thursday night’s NFL season opener.
Eagles defensive tackle Carter was ejected just six seconds into his side’s 24-20 victory when he spat on Prescott in front of an official during a verbal exchange between the pair.
Footage later appeared to show Prescott spitting in the direction of Carter from a distance first, though he later denied he was intending to spit at his opponent.
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Highlights from the Dallas Cowboys at the Philadelphia Eagles in Week One of the NFL season
“I probably spit about 1,000 times throughout the game, especially gameday, maybe general,” said Prescott. “In that case he was trolling, trying to mess with Tyler Booker, I was looking at him by the two linemen, I guess I needed to spit, I wasn’t going to spit on my lineman, I spit ahead. He was back there and he said ‘you trying to spit on me?’.
“At that point I felt like he was insulting me. I wouldn’t spit on somebody, I’m damn sure not trying to spit on you, we’re about to play a game. I’m wondering why you’re trying to mess with the rookie.
“When I stepped through I said ‘what would I need to spit on you for?’ and he spit on me in that moment. It was more of a surprise than anything.
“The refs obviously saw it. Threw the flag. I was like, `Hell yeah! We get 15 yards to start the game off.′ Didn’t realise he was getting ejected. Unfortunate that he did. Hell of a player.
“Changed our plan and blocking scheme. Helped in that manner but I don’t wish for anybody to get out the game and he probably regrets that to some extent and pretty sure he knows I didn’t try to spit on him or aim to spit on him.”
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A potential suspension awaits for Carter, who asserted himself as one of the league’s most disruptive forces on defense during Philadelphia’s path to Super Bowl glory last season.
“It was a mistake that happened on my side. It won’t happen again,” Carter said after the game.
“I feel bad for just my teammates and fans out there. I’m doing it for them. I’m doing it for my family, also. But the fans, they showed the most love.
“I wanted to be out there with the guys so bad,” Carter said.
The Eagles selected Carter with the ninth overall pick out of Georgia at the 2023 NFL Draft, since which he has posted 75 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks and four forced fumbles.
Jalen Hurts ran in two touchdowns as the defending Super Bowl champions opened the 2025 campaign with a win over their NFC East rivals.
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