NFL Clears Dak Prescott of Any Wrongdoing in Cowboys-Eagles Spitting Incident
NFL rules analyst and former referee Walt Anderson confirmed that Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott will not receive discipline for his role in “spit-gate.” According to Anderson, Prescott’s actions that may have incited Jalen Carter’s decision to spit on him were non-punishable.
Video showed Prescott jawing at Carter before the first play, even spitting, though the spit was unrelated to the conversation according to Prescott himself.
Via a report from Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk, Anderson said “There really wasn’t anything that happened, really up until the point that Jalen Carter actually spit on Dak Prescott.”
So, Prescott will escape the situation without a punishment, while Carter’s supplemental punishment decision from the NFL will come Monday. Carter was ejected from the game after the incident, which occurred before the first snap from scrimmage occurred.
Carter Likely to Receive Fine, Not Suspension
Florio wrote in his report that Carter’s actions, though reprehensible, likely won’t result in a suspension.
“But a suspension would defy years of fine-only precedent,” Florio wrote. “If the goal is to put an end to it, a significant fine (in the amount of a game check) could be the message the league sends.”
The precedent has been set in other spitting situations that suspensions are typically not handed out, instead the offenders are hit with fines. The most recent spitting incident in the NFL came in 2020 when Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters spit on Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry. Peters was fined, but not suspended.
Terrell Owens and Sean Taylor have been offenders in the two other spitting incidents in NFL history, and were fined $35,000 and $17,000, respectively.
The only information about the fine Carter will receive is that it will likely be “substantial,” according to Adam Schefter.
Philadelphia Gets The Last Laugh Despite Carter’s Infraction
The Philadelphia Eagles still managed to pick up the win over the Cowboys in the NFL season opener as they celebrated their Super Bowl victory last season. The loss of Carter seemed to give Prescott and the Cowboys offense a bit of help to start the game as they had an effective first half, but second half and weather delay adjustments from the Eagles defense put a stop to any momentum the Dallas offense had.
The lengthy weather delay impacted both offenses. After a wild 41-point first half, just three points were scored in the second half, by the Eagles. None were scored in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles are looking to defend not only their Super Bowl title this season, but also their NFC East title. They got a great boost from defeating their division rivals in the first game of the season.
Buccaneers' first-rounder shines in close victory vs. Falcons
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers began the season 1-0 after a thriller and sloppy one in Atlanta against the Falcons, 23-20.
It wasn’t pretty all across the board with a lot of fixes to make moving forward but the Bucs begin the 2025 season in the win column.
The Falcons came out strong against the Bucs in the first quarter
The Falcons wasted zero time scoring, doing so in just three plays — a Michael Penix Jr. dump-off to Bijan Robinson went for 50 yards on Atlanta's third play from scrimmage to start 7-0 and punch Tampa Bay in the mouth. The Bucs couldn't respond, going three-and-out after Baker Mayfield threw two incompletions.
The Falcons punted on their next drive, but Tampa Bay was pinned inside the 10 and couldn't get the ball moving, so they punted back, and Atlanta did the same the drive after. At the end of the first quarter, the Buccaneers were driving and hit midfield.
Emeka Egbuka strikes for the Buccaneers in the second quarter
The Bucs led an extended drive to start the second quarter, but it ended in a field goal when the Bucs stalled. A 48-yarder from Chase McLaughlin made it 7-3 Falcons, and the Bucs got a huge break the next drive when the defense prevented the Falcons from converting on a 4th & 1.
The offense started at midfield, and it finally got it done when Baker Mayfield threw an excellent pass to Emeka Egbuka to go up 10-7 with 6:53 remaining.
The Falcons took the remainder of the second half up with their ensuing drive, but the Bucs didn't break and forced them to kick a field goal. That tied the game 10-10 all, and after a disasterous Bucs drive that quickly saw them go three-and-out, the Falcons took the ball back with 18 seconds left. They ran two plays before the half ended.
Bucs take the lead in the third quarter
Tampa Bay marched into Atlanta territory to start the second half, but they stalled out at Atlanta's 34. Chase McLaughlin missed a rare kick, so they came away with no points and the game remained 10-10.
The Falcons committed numerous penalties that killed their next drive, so they punted it back to the Bucs. Kameron Johnson took that return all the way down to Atlanta's 30, and that led to a Baker Mayfield touchdown pass to Bucky Irving in the flat.
That brought it up to 17-10 Bucs, and the Falcons went on a massive drive that took up the entire rest of the third. It ended in a field goal, so the Falcons narrowed the gap to 17-13 before the Bucs got the ball back to start the fourth.
Buccaneers' rookie does it again in the fourth quarter... but it isn't enough
The Bucs held an extended drive to start the fourth quarter, but once they got to midfield, they stalled and had to punt. Atlanta responded with an extremely long drive that ate up a majority of the quarter, getting the ball at 11:09 and then scoring a rushing touchdown by way of Michael Penix Jr. with just 2:17 left in the game.
The Bucs got the ball back with minimal time left, and they got the TD they needed on a connection between Mayfield and Egbuka again — unfortunately, a bad snap caused McLaughlin to miss the extra point, so the Falcons just needed three points to send the game to OT.
That didn't happen, though — Younghoe Koo missed his kick, and the Buccaneers narrowly escaped 23-20 with the win.
