To say that things got off to a rocky start for the former Georgia football stars-turned-Philly Dawgs in their 24-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday would be quite an understatement.
Jalen Carter's unsportsmanlike penalty and ejection before the first play from the line of scrimmage had fans doing a spit-take before they even settled into their seats and hit the refreshments. It left his running buddy, Jordan Davis, all by himself inside. Nolan Smith had a first half to forget as well, with a taunting penalty and a roughing the passer flag.
There are a handful former Bulldogs on the Philadelphia defense, and while some had solid games other will want to forget this game ever happened
Jalen Carter got tossed before the first snap of the game
There was nothing good about Carter's very brief appearance at Lincoln Financial Field in the first game of the 2025 NFL regular season. Before the Cowboys called their first offensive play, the big interior defensive lineman found himself facemask-to-facemask with Cowboys signal caller Dak Prescott.
What initially looked like a little harmless trash talk between the two All-Pros suddenly drew a flag as replay showed that Carter spat on the jersey of Prescott. It was an automatic ejection that put the Eagles defense behind the eight ball right away.
Here is Jalen Carter spitting on Dak Prescott: pic.twitter.com/4F5BjEDLHf
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 5, 2025
Nolan Smith had a terrible first half with two big penalties
Edge rusher Nolan Smith managed to stay on the field for Philly, but probably had his worst half of football as a pro over the first 30 minutes. He was flagged early for taunting after making a beautiful shoestring tackle for no gain. In the second quarter, he cost his team another 15 yards because of a roughing-the-passer call. He was neutralized for most of the game.
Jordan Davis was left without his Dawg brother and pal on the interior of the Eagles defensive line, and it showed as Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders, and the Cowboys rushing attack ran right at big Jordan and the Eagles defense for 119 yards. Davis did play well in spots, collecting 6 tackles, one tackle for loss and a pass deflection.
Nakobe Dean is still injured and Kelee Ringo saw action on special teams
The leader of the great Georgia defenses of the early 2020s, Nakobe Dean, is still trying to get back to his spot at middle linebacker as he rehabs a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. He suffered the injury during the Eagles wildcard playoff game against the Green Bay Packers in January 2025.
National Championship hero in the 2022 final against Alabama, Kelee Ringo, still hasn't been able to crack the Eagles' starting 11 at defensive back. Most of his work comes on special teams for now.
Hard-hitting former Georgia safety Lewis Cine and first-year LB Smael Mondon Jr. are reserves, but didn't get on the stat sheet on Thursday.
At the end of the day, Philly got the win as Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley ran all over Dallas, but it wasn't a great evening for most of the former Georgia standouts - particularly Carter.