Officials ruled Carter’s act a “non-football foul,” sparking controversy as Prescott faced no penalty despite his initial gesture.

The NFL’s opening night was supposed to be about the long-awaited showdown between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, two of the league’s fiercest rivals.

Instead, what unfolded on Thursday evening at AT\&T Stadium was a bizarre and ugly chapter in football history — one that will be remembered for years not because of touchdowns or highlight-reel plays, but because of spit. Yes, spit.

Just six minutes into the season opener, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected after appearing to spit directly on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

Referee Shawn Smith, speaking to a pool reporter, explained the decision bluntly: “One of the officials observed him spitting on an opponent. It’s a disqualifiable foul in the game. It’s a non-football act.”

Carter walked off the field with his helmet off, showered in boos from the Dallas crowd, while Prescott and the Cowboys huddle prepared for the next snap.

But then, as fans began to settle into the rhythm of the game, NBC replays told a different story. After a lengthy weather delay in the first quarter, cameras picked up something surprising — Prescott himself had spat in Carter’s direction moments before the ejection.

The quarterback, standing a few yards away in the offensive huddle, seemed to release a spittle toward Carter, then flashed a smile at him.

The gesture didn’t sit well with the 23-year-old lineman, who marched toward Prescott and fired back with his own spit, a move that cost him his spot in the game and left Philadelphia scrambling.

The twist set social media on fire. Clips spread rapidly with captions like, “Dak fired the first spittle??” and “There was a second spitter.”

The comparisons to the infamous “second spitter” Seinfeld gag came quickly, only this time it wasn’t comedy — it was chaos on the NFL’s biggest stage.

The league’s decision to eject Carter but not penalize Prescott raised immediate questions about officiating consistency and accountability.

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, two anonymous sources claimed Prescott’s initial spit landed “in the general vicinity of the Eagles’ defensive huddle” rather than directly on Carter, and that the quarterback tried to explain it wasn’t intended as an act of hostility.

Still, Carter reportedly interpreted it as disrespectful, which may explain his impulsive retaliation.

Carter’s exit was devastating for the Eagles’ defense. The former Georgia Bulldog, drafted ninth overall in 2023, has been a cornerstone of Philadelphia’s defensive front and was expected to play a huge role in limiting Prescott’s time in the pocket.

Instead, the Eagles were forced to rotate younger, less experienced linemen into the game. Despite that setback, Philadelphia managed to grind out a 24-20 victory in hostile territory, a testament to their resilience and offensive firepower.

For Prescott, the controversy arrives at an awkward moment in his career.

Entering his ninth season with the Cowboys, the 31-year-old quarterback is under enormous pressure to finally deliver a deep playoff run for Dallas, a franchise starved of Super Bowl success since the 1990s.

While his smile at Carter in the moment may have seemed playful to some, to others it looked like a taunt — an unnecessary escalation in a rivalry already known for heated exchanges and brutal collisions.

“Dak shouldn’t have done that, man,” one unnamed Eagles player told reporters after the game. “Even if he didn’t mean it the way it looked, it came across as disrespectful. And Jalen’s young — he reacted. But to only throw out one guy? That doesn’t feel right.”

Cowboys players, meanwhile, defended their leader. One lineman insisted Prescott’s spit was nothing more than “a normal sideline thing” and not directed at anyone.

“People are making it into something it’s not,” he added. “Jalen crossed the line. That’s why he’s the one who’s out.”

The NFL has yet to issue an official statement, but the incident is almost certain to be reviewed. Spitting is categorized as a “non-football act,” punishable by fines, suspensions, or ejection. Historically, the league has come down hard on such behavior.

In 1997, for example, Seahawks linebacker Brian Bosworth was fined heavily for a spitting altercation, while in 2006, Raiders defensive tackle Warren Sapp was penalized for a similar act. In each case, intent played a key role in how the league responded.

Carter’s ejection also raises questions about his discipline on the field. Though supremely talented, the 6-foot-3, 314-pound lineman has faced scrutiny before for emotional outbursts and lapses in judgment.

The Eagles have stood by him since drafting him despite concerns about maturity. Thursday night’s spectacle will only reignite those conversations, especially as Carter becomes a more prominent figure in Philadelphia’s locker room.

Off the field, Carter’s backstory adds another layer. A standout on Georgia’s back-to-back national championship teams, he entered the NFL with immense hype but also controversy, having been involved in a reckless driving incident in 2023 that resulted in misdemeanor charges.

Many saw his slide to the ninth pick as a product of those concerns. For him to be at the center of an opening night scandal just two years later is bound to raise eyebrows around the league.

As for Prescott, the optics are damaging. Even if his initial spit wasn’t meant as an act of aggression, the replay evidence is undeniable.

It happened. And in a rivalry as raw as Cowboys-Eagles, where every gesture is magnified, it may be interpreted as deliberate disrespect. The fact that Prescott smiled immediately afterward only fuels speculation. Was it a taunt? A joke? A coincidence?

The Cowboys ultimately fell short in their opener, losing 24-20 in front of a stunned home crowd. But the real storyline isn’t the final score. It’s the spit. The image of Prescott smirking after spitting toward Carter will linger, as will Carter’s angry retaliation.

By Friday morning, debate was raging not just on sports talk shows but across the football world. Should Prescott face discipline? Was Carter unfairly punished? Did the officials mishandle the situation entirely?

The Cowboys-Eagles rivalry has always been one of the NFL’s fiercest, but this latest chapter — the “Spit Game” — may go down as one of the strangest in league history. And for Dak Prescott, Jalen Carter, and the officials who made the call, the fallout is only just beginning.