Ugly, But Still A Win — Eagles Hang On To Win Season Opener Against Cowboys 24-20
Hunter Martin / Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles football is back!
207 days after the Eagles lifted their second Super Bowl Trophy, the Birds were back at home to kick off not only their season but the 2025 NFL season overall. Their opponents, their heated rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. While it was a battle throughout the night, the Eagles’ offense dominated all game, helping them secure their first win of the year in a 24-20 win.
Reigning Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts balled out, recording two rushing touchdowns and 62 yards on the ground, while adding 152 yards in the air. Saquon Barkley looked good in his first game coming off his historic season, recording 60 rushing yards (84 all-purpose) and rushing for one touchdown.
As the game kicked off, things got chippy right away between the Eagles and Cowboys. During an injury timeout after the first kickoff, Jalen Carter went up to the Cowboys’ quarterback, Dak Prescott, and spat on him right in front of a referee. Carter was then ejected from the game for the action without even taking a snap.
After all that, the Cowboys started their first drive from around midfield and began moving the ball efficiently. After a few short gains from Javonte Williams and a six-yard catch from George Pickens, Prescott found a wide-open CeeDee Lamb for a 32-yard gain, putting them at the one-yard line. On first and goal, Prescott tossed another ball to Lamb, getting a defensive pass interference flag, and on the next play, Williams stormed through the middle for a one-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 Dallas.
With the Cowboys striking first, the Eagles needed to respond and did. Hurts hit Dallas Goedert with a nine-yard pass to open up the drive, and Barkley got going with a three-yard run for a first down. Hurts picked up a quick 15 yards on two scrambles, and Barkley bulldozed his way on a 16-yard run to put the Eagles across midfield.
Will Shipley checked into the game for Barkley and instantly made an impact, rushing for five yards on one rush and 20 on another to set the Eagles up inside the 10. After two unsuccessful runs by Barkley, Hurts scrambled into the endzone for a four-yard touchdown run, tying the game at seven.
The Cowboys kicked off their second drive similarly to their first, a few small runs from Williams and big catches from Lamb. Prescott found Lamb for 18 and 26-yard receptions, putting Dallas across midfield right away. A 10-yard holding penalty on the Cowboys backed them up, and a pass interference call on Quinyon Mitchell put them right back inside the red zone.
With the ball at the 12-yard line, Williams pushed his way through for an 11-yard run, and on the next play, found the endzone for another one-yard touchdown, giving Dallas the lead again.
Back down a touchdown, the Eagles offense went back to work. Barkley picked up 10 yards on two runs, Hurts found Devonta Smith for his first catch of the game, and hit Goedert on back-to-back plays to get back over midfield. Hurts went on a scrambling clinic, taking one for nine yards, another for 15 to set the Eagles up inside the 10. After a failed run by Barkley, Hurts went scrambling again and found the endzone once again, for a nine-yard rushing touchdown, his second of the game.
All tied up at 14, Dallas kicked off their third drive with two big plays, a 16-yard catch reception from KaVontae Turpin and a 15-yard run from former Eagle Miles Sanders. After another first down on three rushes, the Cowboys were back inside the 25. However, their offense went cold for the first time all night, as two incompletions to Lamb and one to Pickens brought up fourth down. Brandon Aubrey lined up for a 41-yard field goal and drilled it to make it 17-14 Dallas.
With just over two minutes until the half, the Eagles had one last chance to get points on the board before the break. After a four-yard run from Barkley and an incomplete pass, on third down, Hurts chucked a deep ball to Jahan Dotson, who came down with the pass for a 51-yard reception.
Now back inside the 30-yard line, Barkley rushed for eight yards and then caught a three-yard pass for a first down. After a five-yard scramble from Hurts, Barkley got the rock once again and bulldozed his way through the middle and into the endzone for a 15-yard touchdown to take a 21-17 lead.
With under a minute to go in the half, the Cowboys started putting a drive together thanks to penalties from the Eagles. A pass interference penalty from Jakorian Bennett gave them one first down, and a roughing the passer from Nolan Smith moved them up 15 more yards. After that penalty, the Eagles were up to 93 penalty yards on the night, which is more than they had in any game last season.
Prescott found Pickens open for nine yards and Lamb for 10, getting the Cowboys down to the Eagles’ 35-yard line, and setting up Aubrey with a 53-yard field goal attempt with just three seconds left in the half. Aubrey nailed the kick, and the two teams went into the half with the Eagles leading 21-20.
Out of the break, the Eagles were back on offense and were back to moving the ball. Hurts found Goedert on back-to-back passes for a first down, and Barkley picked up another one on a 12-yard run. AJ Dillion got his first handoff of the game for a nine-yard rush, pushing the ball past midfield.
After a rush for no gain from Dillion, Hurts was sacked for an eight-yard loss, and a checkdown on third down brought up fourth down. At the 41-yard line, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni elected to have Jake Elliott kick a 58-yard field goal, and Elliott drilled the kick to make it 24-20 Philadelphia.
The Cowboys opened up their first offensive drive running with Williams, getting three straight run plays. After an incompletion to Brevyn Spann-Ford, Sanders broke free for a 49-yard run, putting Dallas nearly inside the 10. However, on the first play after the big run, Pickens was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty, pushing the Cowboys back 15 yards.
After back-to-back incompletions, a third one nearly happened in the endzone after a dropped pass to Jake Ferguesgon, but Reed Blankenship was called for a questionable unnecessary roughness call, giving Dallas a fresh set of downs. On the first play after the penalty, Sanders ran into the middle of the Eagles’ defense and fumbled the football, with Mitchell picking up for the first turnover of the game.
Following the turnover, the referees suspended the game due to lightning in the area, and the delay lasted for over an hour. Once the game resumed, the Eagles sleepwalked through their first drive of offense, going three and out.
On Dallas’ first drive after the delay, Prescott found Lamb on third down, picking up 14 yards, but a negative pass play and an incompletion on third down forced the Cowboys to punt for the first time all night.
Barkley kicked off the Eagles’ next drive with an eight-yard catch, and after a one-yard rush, the Eagles completed their first Tush Push on third and one for a first down. After two more first downs, a four-yard loss on a run from Barkley halted the Eagles’ drive and forced them to punt once again, pinning Dallas inside the 15-yard line.
Right away, it looked like Dallas was ready to go down the field and take the lead as they started the drive off with a 13-yard pass to Lamb for an early first down. However, a negative two-yard from Williams and two short completions ended the Cowboys’ drive as the Eagles forced another punt.
The Eagles didn’t do much with their following drive as they once again went three and out, giving Dallas the ball back with three minutes left in the game. With the game winding down, Prescott found Pickens open for a 15 pass on third down to reset the downs and extend their drive.
Two straight incompletions forced third and 10, and Prescott just got the pass off to Williams for seven yards to make it fourth and three at the two-minute warning. After the break, the Cowboys came out on fourth down to go for it. Prescott stepped back and fired downfield with the pass, just missing the hands of Lamb for a turnover on downs.
Just needing a first down to seal the win, Barkley was stuffed on first down, and on second down, Hurts dropped back and fired his first completion of the night to A.J. Brown for eight yards. With the Eagles at third and three, Hurts stepped back and ran a delayed QB draw, crossing the first down marker, sealing the win. Hurts then took three knees, ending the game with the Eagles winning 24-20.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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