PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts shrugged on a TD celebration and did his best to be like Mike.
Through spit and rain, a ceremony and a setback, Hurts and the Super Bowl champion Eagles weathered the storm and showed why they’re again a favorite to hoist a second straight Lombardi Trophy.
Hurts rushed for two touchdowns for the Eagles, who lost hot-tempered star defender Jalen Carter early for spitting on Dak Prescott, then withstood a rare weather delay and needed a late stop to beat the Dallas Cowboys 24-20 early Friday in a wild start to the NFL season.
With one last chance at a comeback, Prescott threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-3 with 1:54 left to send what was left of a thinned out Eagles crowd into a frenzy.
The game ended at 12:18 a.m.
It was delayed 65 minutes because of lightning in the area. The Eagles led 24-20 with 4:44 left in the third quarter when the game was stopped — and that’s the way it ended.
“Some weird circumstances tonight,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.
Business as usual for the offense.
Hurts wore out a defense playing without Micah Parsons for the first time since he was traded to Green Bay on TD runs of 4 and 8 yards — no legal tush push needed. Saquon Barkley also ran for a 10-yard score, even if his final rushing total of 60 yards was minuscule compared to last season when he topped 2,000 yards.
Hurts punctuated one score by chucking the ball into the stands and shrugging his shoulders much like his friend and mentor, Michael Jordan, who received a nice ovation when he was shown on the big screen.
“Yeah, you have a special guest, a special friend in attendance, there’s only one thing you can do and that’s win,” Hurts said.
Hurts, Barkley and the rest of the Eagles spent a pregame ceremony inside the locker room when the team revealed their 2024 championship banner, per Sirianni’s wishes.
“I’m proud of everybody weathering the different adversities that came our way today,” Hurts said. “It’s always good to get a win.”
Even the victory came with a major headache. Carter headed right back inside to the locker room when he was tossed only moments after the banner was unveiled.
Prescott and Carter exchanged words after the opening kickoff, and Carter spit on Prescott’s jersey before backing away. Prescott quickly motioned to a nearby official who threw the flag and sent Carter packing. Fans booed as Carter walked off slowly, the standout defensive tackle holding his helmet in his hands behind his back.
Carter could be headed toward a hefty financial penalty, if not worse, in the first major test of the NFL’s increased emphasis this season on sportsmanship.
Carter apologized after the game — Hurts said he spoke to the tackle about his conduct — and said, “It won’t happen again.”
Prescott said he simply spit straight ahead as he usually would, only for the saliva to land in the area near Carter, which raised the ire of the defenseman.
“I wouldn’t spit on somebody.” Prescott said.
Still one of the NFL’s nastiest division rivalries, the game was full of skirmishes and a near-costly unnecessary roughness penalty late in the third against the Eagles that put the Cowboys in position to take the lead.
Dallas running back Miles Sanders, though, fumbled the ball at the 10 and the Super Bowl champions recovered. Prescott made a touchdown-saving diving tackle on cornerback Quinyon Mitchell on the play.
It would be a while until the Eagles got the ball back, thanks to the delay.
The scores by Hurts and Barkley made the Eagles the first defending Super Bowl champions to score touchdown on the first three drives of the season since Green Bay in 2011. Jake Elliott put the finishing touches on the scoring with a 58-yard field goal.
Javonte Williams had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs — the first on the opening driving after Carter was ejected — and Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 41 and 53 yards.
Injuries
Eagles offensive lineman Landon Dickerson left with a back injury.
Debut loss
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer lost his head coaching debut. He was promoted him from offensive coordinator to be the 10th coach in the storied franchise’s history.
“I still think we can win a Super Bowl,” he said. “It’s not going to change. I mean, we’ve got the right type of guys. We’ve got good players.”
Catch it if you can
Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb had seven catches for 110 yards but failed to reel in a pivotal catch in the second half. Eagles star receiver A.J. Brown was only targeted once and had one catch for eight yards. DeVonta Smith, a two-time 1,000-yard receiver, had just three catches for 16 yards for the Eagles.
“A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith,” Sirianni said, “are selfless.”
Up next
Dallas plays its home opener against the Giants.
Did someone say Super Bowl rematch? The Eagles head to Kansas City seven months after a 40-22 romp in New Orleans.
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