What if Jalen Carter spat on the quarterback of a better team than the Dallas Cowboys? That seems to be the underrated part in all this. The NFL world is only one game through Week 1, and the league has to answer to SpitGate... No matter who is more at fault between Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter, it is a bad look for both and the NFL.
Carter's ejection for retaliating to Prescott spitting in his direction could have derailed the Eagles' game plan entirely. Fortunately for the Birds, this roster is loaded. Philadelphia won the Super Bowl in February. The Cowboys have not been to the NFC Championship since Prescott was in pre-school. All the while, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is not remotely thrilled about what happened to Carter.
Sirianni put it bluntly in his postgame press conference about what he expects out of his star player.
What Nick Sirianni said about Jalen Carter getting ejected in Week 1
Sirianni made a point to say any punishment for Carter's mental lapse will be conducted in-house.
”Everything that we do is going to be held in-house. Again, he knows, and we needed him out there and he wasn't out there against a really good offense."
While he was proud of how his team responded, Sirianni really wishes Carter had been available...
"I was really proud of the way the guys stepped up and played. To give up 20 points against a really good team, a really good offense, they've got good offensive line, Dak Prescott's a really good quarterback, two really good wide receivers, a really good tight end, running backs that can make plays with the football."
A few moments later, Sirianni finished with this nugget about saying that you have to win as a team.
"But, we need Jalen Carter on the field and, like I said, we will keep everything in-house, but we have to get all these things corrected as a whole. As you guys know, I want them-- you see how I coach with emotion, and I want them to play with emotion, and that's what I kind of say all the time is you have to do it within the rules of the game. We need everybody out there to help us be successful.”
The former Georgia star always plays with emotion, but he has to learn how to contain it better here.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni says what Jalen Carter did can’t happen
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 5, 2025
”everything that we do is going to be held in-house. Again, he knows, and we needed him out there and he wasn't out there against a really good offense. I was really proud of the way the guys stepped up and… pic.twitter.com/ohD8U6kaU7
Philadelphia escapes a close call from Dallas by winning at home in Week 1 to the tune of 24-20.
Nick Sirianni knows how important Jalen Carter is to Philadelphia Eagles
Although every win in the NFL is precious, having Carter miss an entire game for merely self-inflicted reasons could have cost the Eagles a game vs. a stronger opponent. Had these antics gotten the best of Carter vs. the likes of Detroit, Green Bay or Washington, it may have tipped the scales in the favor of their opponent. Again, Philadelphia only beat Dallas at home by four points on Thursday...
What this really comes down to is this is more of the reason why so many teams passed on Carter at the very top of the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The talent was always there. It still is. However, his on-field antics can sometimes give off the vibes of being the Gen-Z version of Ndamukong Suh. Nobody ever denied their greatness on the field, but there are unfortunately layers to their games.
In the end, the Eagles are fortunate that this happened in Week 1 of the season against an opponent Philadelphia was probably going to beat anyway. What is important is Sirianni cannot lose control of this team. It has been 20 years in between repeat Super Bowl champions prior to the Kansas City Chiefs getting it done in 2022-23. Philadelphia has a real shot to do it in February, but not like this...
For now, expect for Sirianni to let Carter have it behind closed doors to help him get back to reality.