The Thursday Night Football kickoff matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles has been off to a great start, but it started with a bit of chaos. Eagles’ star defensive lineman Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting on Dak Prescott, per Adam Schefter, before the first offensive snap and the Eagles have been paying the price without his presence.
Even though Philly has been having some challenges stopping the Cowboys, Dallas has also had their challenges at stopping the Eagles’ offense. Jalen Hurts had two touchdowns on the ground, and Saquon Barkley managed to get into the endzone before the end of the first half. Barkley has one person to thank for setting him up to get into the endzone, and that is none other than former Bills and current Cowboys cornerback, Kaiir Elam.
The Cowboys took a 17-14 lead as the first half was starting to wind down and on the Eagles’ last offensive drive, Hurts completed a 51-yard completion to wideout Jahan Dotson that put the Eagles into Dallas territory. Who gave up that big play for Dallas? It was Elam. That play was a big reason why the Eagles were able to score a touchdown late and take the lead going into halftime.
According to John Gonoude, Director of Football Communications for the Eagles, that big reception by Dotson was his largest reception since December 18th, 2022, when he was a rookie with Washington where he caught a 61-yard pass.
Jahan Dotson's 51-yard reception on third down marked his longest catch since a 61-yarder on 12/18/22 vs. N.Y. Giants as a rookie with Washington.
— John Gonoude (@john_gonoude) September 5, 2025
Fans now see why Bills moved on from Kaiir Elam
In this past free agency period, the Bills decided to move on from Elam after trading up for him in the 2022 NFL Draft. They traded him to Dallas along with a 2025 6th-round pick in exchange for a 2025 5th-round pick and a 2026 7th-round pick.
Elam struggled in Buffalo and didn’t play out his rookie contract with them. He was more of a liability than an asset and his weak performance in the playoffs against the Chiefs was the final thing that the Bills needed to see to move on from him.
If Elam had better coverage against Dotson, maybe this game wouldn’t be as close as it currently is. Instead, this could easily be a back-and-forth battle that comes down to the wire.