Moments after the Philadelphia Eagles hung their Super Bowl LIX banner, their best defensive player was ejected.
All-Pro defensive tackle Jalen Carter spat on Dak Prescott before the opening snap and was immediately ejected.
The refs had stopped the game for an injury on the opening kickoff, and the two teams milled around waiting to begin.
Carter walked over to the Dallas huddle and began chirping. Prescott stepped forward and Carter proceeded to spit in the quarterback’s face.
Moments later, Carter was walking back to the locker room. The raucous crowd couldn’t believe it, as a quiet hush fell over Lincoln Financial Field.
What proceeded next? Prescott quickly drove Dallas down for a score to get off to a 7-0 lead.
Carter is coming off a second-team All-Pro nod and his first career Pro Bowl. Heading into his third season, he is seen as Philadelphia’s best defensive player.
The Philly faithful will now have to wait until the Super Bowl LIX rematch when the Eagles travel to face Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The internet couldn’t believe Carter’s actions.
“Wanna know why Jalen Carter fell to the ninth pick?” NFL reporter Albert Breer plainly pointed out on X.
“I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever seen something more bizarre/out of absolutely nowhere than that,” FS1’s Nick Wright posted.
“The game just started! No one has done anything to anyone… and your team’s best defensive player just walks over to the opposing quarterback and spits on him!!! Maniac behavior!”
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith came from the top rope with his take on what the league should do.
“WTH did I just see? Jalen Carter — the Best player on the Eagles defense — just got thrown out the game before a freakin snap for SPITTING….SPITTING on Dak,” Smith wrote on X.
“To hell with just an ejection. Suspend that man. How in the HELL could you do something like that? Inexcusable! Stupid! Selfish! #Damn!”
NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt was standing in the tunnel that Carter walked into after being ejected.
“I was standing next to the tunnel as Jalen Carter left the field,” Brandt wrote on X. “Big Dom was talking to him, Jalen was still saying nothing. Looked emotionless.”
NBC’s Mike Tirico noted on the broadcast that Carter is the first player ever ejected in the defending Super Bowl champion’s season opener.
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The NFL is placing an emphasis on taunting penalties this year, trying to remove obscene gestures and jawing in an opponent’s face out of the game.
However, what Carter did doesn’t even qualify as taunting. What he did was simply unacceptable and is an automatic ejection every day of the week.
The Eagles drafted Carter with the ninth overall pick out of Georgia in 2023. He was believed to be a sure-fire top 5 pick, but fell due to character concerns.
As Breer astutely pointed out, there is a reason Carter fell to nine. Spitting in the face of Prescott would be example A.
The Eagles will need Carter to be on the field if they want to successfully defend their title. Less spitting, more sacks.