We know what was wrong with the Dallas Cowboys’ defense in Week 1. Their four-man pass rush was missing a key component. Without Micah Parsons playing boogeyman, Jalen Hurts was able to work relatively pressure free before defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus began dialing up aggressive blitzes. When his pocket finally did buckle, he escaped with little difficulty against a defense that struggled to find the right angles or finish tackles.
We have an idea of what was wrong with the Philadelphia Eagles‘ defense in Week 1. We just don’t know if it’s a symptom that will linger throughout the year. That’s because the Eagles lost arguably their most important defensive player six seconds and zero snaps into Thursday night’s season opener.
Jalen Carter’s doofus-brained ejection for spitting on Dak Prescott during an injury timeout before the first offensive snap of the year left a gaping hole in the middle of the Philadelphia defensive line. The Cowboys’ run game looked like a preseason weakness. Its lead back, Javonte Williams, finished 2024 with -83 rush yards over expected (RYOE), 41st best among 44 qualified runners last season. But there he was, running into the teeth of the Eagles’ defense where Carter used to be and grinding out yards.
Williams had two rushing touchdowns up the gut in the first 16 minutes of Week 1. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, it was the first time since 2021 the Eagles had given up multiple rushing scores up the middle. Miles Sanders, who averaged a career-worst -0.8 RYOE per carry last year, bounced a third-quarter run outside for 49 yards — something that may have happened even with Carter in the middle, but also something that may have been affected by the Philadelphia adding extra focus to its run defense between the hashes. Dallas running backs averaged better than five yards per carry — 1.2 more yards per touch than the Eagles allowed last season and 1.5 more yards per touch than the Cowboys gained in 2024.
Carter’s absence wasn’t just felt in the run game. His All-Pro 2024 was predicated on the kind of pocket-crumpling presence that helped Philly’s pass rushers thrive. His 16 quarterback hits led the team last season. His 45 pressures were ninth-most among defensive tackles.
On Thursday night, Dak Prescott was hit only once in the first half and completed 75 percent of his non-spiked passes. Add in a 34-yard defensive pass interference penalty and he averaged a robust 9.5 yards per dropback in the first 30 minutes. It was a bit of a mess!
The Cowboys scored on their first four drives and were only blanked on a fifth due to Prescott’s desire to force throws into coverage in the seam and an eventual Sanders fumble. They didn’t punt until the fourth quarter, and that was only after a CeeDee Lamb drop on third down.
The Eagles blitzed only 19 percent of the time in last year’s world championship run, the fifth-lowest mark in the NFL. In Week 1 they pinned back their ears and sent extra pass rushers more regularly early, creating one-on-one matchups that helped Dallas wideouts exploit young cornerbacks and eventually freed up Lamb for 95 total yards (85 receiving, 10 via pass interference) in the first half.
Then, things tightened up. An hour-plus lightning delay led to the tweaks that shut down the Dallas run game (no great shakes, but important) and forced the third-and-long situations that eventually led to the Cowboys’ unraveling. It took some luck — and more Lamb drops — to get there, but the extra break allowed for the adjustments Philly needed to get to 1-0.
Still! There are concerns about the Eagles defense. There were always going to be concerns about that defense, considering it lost 10 players from last year’s Super Bowl team and the fact the team’s top eight highest paid players, in terms of 2025 salary cap hits, all play on the opposite side of the ball. But playing a game without Carter for no reason other than the fact the third-year All-Pro was, at least for one moment, a hotheaded goon, tempers what we can learn from this.
That sounds silly, but it’s useful. A Super Bowl 59 rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs awaits in Week 2. Andy Reid knows how to plan for a dynamic three-down defensive tackle who can single-handedly change a game — he’s got Chris Jones after all — but he doesn’t know if there are any new arrows in Carter’s quiver. He doesn’t know if coordinator Vic Fangio has a new innovation to throw at Patrick Mahomes. How much of Thursday’s front seven game film is useful when the most important player in that bunch isn’t there?
It’s difficult to find a silver lining when one of your best players gets ejected six seconds into the season for aggravated doofusery. But the Eagles found a way to win without him and eventually adjusted to hold Dallas to 3.3 yards per play after the lightning break. Philadelphia is in no way better without Carter on the field, but it has ways to create havoc without him. Necessity is the mother of invention, and it generated one hell of a fourth quarter surge (albeit one that was, again, significantly aided by Lamb’s drops).
The Eagles survived Week 1 without a defensive star and made life more difficult for their Week 2 opponent, the reigning AFC champions. That’s about all you can ask for. Besides, you know, having a defensive tackle who doesn’t get ejected six minutes into the game.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Jalen Carter’s ejection was an accidental act of scouting subterfuge
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