This year’s NFL drama just started before the first whistle. During the week 1 season opener, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott found himself in a spitting mess with Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter. The incident ended with Carter getting ejected before playing a single snap, and it quickly became the night’s biggest story.
Prescott has now opened up about what really went down. He insists he wasn’t targeting Carter or anyone in green when he spit. Instead, he says he was normally talking to teammate Tyler Booker and had to spit toward the ground. Carter, however, didn’t see it that way. And that misunderstanding set off what fans now call “Spitgate.”
After the game, NBC analyst and former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett shared Prescott’s explanation. “Dak told him that he was talking to Tyler Booker, had to spit,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote on X. “When he did, Jalen Carter was close by. Carter said, ‘you spit at me?’ Prescott smiled and said, ‘why would I spit at you?’ And Carter spit back.”
Carter’s Misread That Escalated Fast
Nick Harris of the Star-Telegram added that Carter believed Prescott spit at the Eagles’ defensive huddle. Video from NBC shows Prescott looking down when he spit, which supports his version. Still, Carter clearly thought otherwise and let his emotions take over. He walked up and spit directly at Prescott, which resulted an immediate ejection.
That ejection shifted the tone of the game. With Carter gone, Dallas leaned on new running back Javonte Williams, who scored twice in his team debut. The Cowboys looked sharp early but faded in the second half, failing to score after halftime. Prescott finished 21-for-34 with 188 passing yards, most of which came before the break. CeeDee Lamb got in 110 yards on seven catches but also missed two crucial grabs late.
Dak Prescott nearly pulled off a comeback in his first game back after 10 months away. He hit George Pickens on a clutch third down and dropped a deep ball right into Lamb’s hands that should have flipped the field. Lamb dropped it, and Prescott’s last pass on fourth down missed, and Philadelphia finished with a 24-20 win.
The league now faces a decision on Carter’s punishment. For now, the Cowboys head home with more questions than answers, both from “Spitgate” and from a frustrating night on the field.
