Thursday night’s (Sept. 4) season opener between the Cowboys and Eagles quickly became less about the scoreboard and more about a shocking spitting incident.
Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected after spitting toward Cowboys quarterback, Dak Prescott, apparently in response to Prescott sending saliva in his direction first. The act occurred right in front of an official, making Carter’s ejection an immediate call.
Video from the incident, however, shows that the confrontation may have been sparked by Prescott himself, who seemingly — though possibly unintentionally — spit in Carter’s direction during the opening huddle. See footage below.
In his postgame press conference, Prescott was candid about the routine nature of his spitting habits, saying he spits “a thousand times throughout the game.” He explained that he wasn’t aiming at anyone directly. “I wasn’t going to spit on my lineman and I just spit ahead,” he said, adding that Carter’s reaction was “insulting” because he would never deliberately spit on someone.
Video shows Prescott moving toward Carter while explaining himself, just before Carter retaliated. “I actually said words like, ‘Why the hell would I–’ excuse me, probably even more colorful — ‘what would I need to spit on you for?’ he recounted. “He just spit on me in that moment, it was more of a surprise than anything.”
Despite the incident, Prescott emphasized that he holds no ill will toward Carter.
“I’m pretty sure he knows that I didn’t try to spit on him or wasn’t even aiming to spit on him,” he continued, adding that he doesn’t wish for anyone to be ejected. “I know how excited each and every one of us are right to kick off the season and the season opener, and hell of a player like that doesn’t even get a chance in the first play. Unfortunate circumstances,” he added.
Carter, for his part, admitted the incident was a mistake. Following the 24-20 Eagles win, he promised it “won’t happen again.”
See the spitting exchange above.