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Dak Prescott had missed the final nine games of the 2024 season with a right hamstring avulsion.Dak Prescott finished 21-for-34 with 188 passing yards and no touchdowns in the 2025 season opener.A couple late drops by CeeDee Lamb thwarted a fourth-quarter comeback attempt by the Cowboys.
PHILADELPHIA — Dak Prescott’s first game in 10 months ended in disappointment.
The Dallas Cowboys quarterback, who missed the final nine games of the 2024 season with a right hamstring avulsion, mounted a fourth-quarter comeback attempt but didn’t receive much help from his favorite target, wideout CeeDee Lamb. A pair of Prescott passes hit Lamb’s hands on downfield attempts, but Lamb could not complete either catch, and the Eagles drained the clock in a 24-20 victory for the defending Super Bowl champions in the opening game of the 2025 NFL season.
Prescott finished 21-for-34 with 188 passing yards, 127 of which came in the first half. Lamb had 110 of those yards on seven catches (13 targets). Prescott led four straight scoring drives in the first half, but the Cowboys scored zero points in the final 30 minutes. A one-hour, three-minute lightning delay did not help in matters of momentum. In the second half, he had six completions for 34 yards until his team’s final drive; Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell bailed him out by dropping what would have been a game-ending interception.
“We have to finish,” Prescott said. “We have to come out and score in the second half. We’ve got to get points … you can’t score 20 in the first half and then lay a goose egg in the second half.”
Overall, Prescott said he felt like he “played a smooth game.”
“It was fun just to be out there, and I’m super thankful and blessed to be back in the game and back with those guys,” he said.
Even with the up-and-down performance and the loss, Prescott’s boss was pleased with his performance.
“I thought Dak may have played one of the best games I’ve ever seen him play,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said.
Prescott ripped more than a handful of impressive throws in his first game since Nov. 3, 2024 (Week 9 of last year). None more so than during the Cowboys’ final possession.
Prescott rebounded from the near-interception to Mitchell by hanging in the pocket and making a tough throw to George Pickens on third down for a 15-yard gain to keep Dallas’ comeback hopes alive. He delivered a beautiful deep ball to Lamb that the receiver inexplicably dropped and would have been a massive gain into Eagles territory. There was another touch pass on a corner post route to tight end Luke Schoonmaker, who was in double coverage, but had a chance to bring it in near the Eagles’ sideline.
“That was the main part of it, is being able to run, whether it’s to get out of pressure, use my legs when I need to and just be healthy throughout the game,” Prescott said. “So something that I’m not going to stop and just keep building on. But a lot of work has gone into this and we’ll continue to grow from it.”
Prescott’s last-ditch effort to find Lamb on the team’s final play – out of what felt like the fastest two-minute warning ever – was too far from Lamb’s reach, even though Lamb laid out for the ball but once again could not bring it in. Lamb finished with four drops.
After the game, Prescott and his favorite target didn’t need to have a “big, long talk.” Lamb admitted to reporters his disappointment in himself.
“He shut me up in the same sense of taking accountability and after the game, going over to him and he is just doing this (pointing to his chest),” Prescott said. “It wasn’t just those plays. There’s throws out there that I want back, but it’s game one and he’s a guy that makes those plays. He’s going to make those plays. We’re not going to get down on him. I’m not going to lose confidence by any means and he will make those plays.”
Whether it was on the move – Prescott evaded one sack in the first half and turned it into a three-yard gain – or in the pocket, the Cowboys’ signal-caller looked to be in top form to his teammates.
“I just saw him executing at a very high level,” left guard Tyler Smith told USA TODAY Sports. “Obviously we came up short at the end but I thought we made huge plays, and we just have to continue to build upon that.”
Did Dak Prescott spit at Jalen Carter first?
The game had barely started before Prescott found himself at the center of controversy. Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter was ejected after the opening kickoff for spitting at Prescott, although Prescott appeared to have spit first, albeit not directly at any person.
Prescott said he spit toward the ground and Carter took that as Prescott spitting at Carter.
“I probably spit a thousand times throughout the game, especially game day, maybe even in general,” Prescott said, “it’s something I’m not proud of.
“For (Carter) to react and spit, I’m sure it’s not something he’s proud of.”
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