PHILADELPHIA — The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles kicked off their title defense with a hard-fought 24-20 victory over longtime rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, in a thrilling season opener at Lincoln Financial Field.
Dallas came out swinging, opening the game with a scoring drive capped by new addition Javonte Williams, who punched in a short rushing touchdown. The Cowboys offense looked sharp early, with star receiver CeeDee Lamb torching the Eagles secondary for a 32-yard catch and drawing a key pass interference penalty to set up the score.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense responded immediately. Hurts capped off a quick drive with a 4-yard touchdown run, tying the game at 7-7. But the Cowboys weren’t done—on their next possession, Lamb continued to dominate with two big receptions totaling 44 yards and drew another costly pass interference call, this time for 34 yards. Williams finished the drive with his second touchdown, giving Dallas a 14-7 lead.
The first-half shootout continued as Hurts used his legs to lead another scoring drive, diving into the end zone to tie it once again at 14-14. Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey added a 41-yard field goal to retake the lead, but the Eagles answered quickly in the final two minutes of the half.
Hurts connected with hometown favorite Jahan Dotson for a 51-yard strike that set up a 10-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley, sending the Eagles into halftime with a 21-20 lead.
A weather delay due to lightning paused the action, but once play resumed, Eagles kicker Jake Elliott extended the lead with a booming 58-yard field goal. From there, both defenses clamped down, holding each other scoreless for the rest of the game.
The Eagles held on to win 24-20, starting their season 1-0 and taking early control of the NFC East.
Next up, Philadelphia travels to Kansas City for a highly anticipated Super Bowl rematch with the Chiefs on Sunday night.