The Dan Patrick Show – Hour 1

Episode Title: Spit Heard Round the World, Cowboys Fall in NFL Opener
Date: September 5, 2025
Host: Dan Patrick
Podcast Network: iHeartPodcasts / Dan Patrick Podcast Network

Overview

In this first hour, Dan Patrick and the Danettes break down a wild NFL season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles — a game that saw a star player tossed for spitting, weather delays, and a dramatic finish. The central theme revolves around the on-field controversy between Jalen Carter and Dak Prescott, Jalen Hurts' standout performance, and the Cowboys' painful loss. The episode weaves in Dan’s trademark humor, thoughtful analysis, and listener interaction, offering football fans both information and entertainment.

Main Topics & Key Insights

1. Game Recap & Chaos in Philadelphia

• The Eagles top the Cowboys in a game full of unexpected drama: an injury on the first play, a spitting incident, a weather delay, and a back-and-forth clash quickly becoming must-see TV.
• The Eagles win despite losing star defender Jalen Carter to ejection and have to weather (literally) almost an hour's delay due to lightning.
• Dallas flashes promise, especially in the first half, but falters late. Jalen Hurts cements his status as one of the league’s top quarterbacks.

Timestamped Highlights:

• [08:00] Dan: "If you put it in a time capsule and people go, how good was Jalen Hurts?...That would have been the game last night."
• [14:15] Dan: "CeeDee Lamb had 7 catches for 110 yards and didn't have a good game," emphasizing costly drops in the second half.
• [40:00] Listener call from Shay and Irving: "I really thought we had a shot last night to win the game...In the end, I got struck down to size and back to my own depressed Cowboys fandom."

2. Jalen Hurts – ‘Game Master’ Performance

• Hurts shines despite his supporting cast’s quiet night and the loss of Jalen Carter on defense.
• Praise for Hurts’ command, mobility, and decision-making; Dan suggests 'game master' better describes his performance than 'game manager.'
• Discussion on how Hurts is often judged unfairly because of the stacked roster around him.

Notable Quotes:

• [11:12] Dan: "This was old-school football...I don’t care what my numbers are — we’re going to win. And he proved that."
• [12:44] Dan: "I didn't think he was a great quarterback. I just think he's great for that team...we’re gonna hold it against him that he’s got maybe the best front office in football?"
• [17:05] Marvin: "It's going to be so tough for him to win league MVP because he's going to get dinged for his team being so good..."

3. The Spitting Incident – Jalen Carter & Dak Prescott

• Critical early-game moment: Eagles' Jalen Carter ejected for spitting on Cowboys' Dak Prescott.
• Dan and the Danettes thoroughly break down the incident, emphasizing the context — back-and-forth jawing, ambiguity over Dak possibly instigating by spitting near Carter.
• Audio clips of both Carter and Prescott’s explanations are played, each expressing regret/confusion over the misunderstanding.
• Discussion over appropriate punishment, with consensus among the crew that further suspension would be excessive given context and ejection.

Timestamps and Quotes:

• [23:10] Dak Prescott audio: "I wasn’t gonna spit on my linemen. I just spit ahead...He goes, ‘You trying to spit on me?’...I wouldn't spit on somebody. I'm damn sure not trying to spit on you."
• [24:45] Jalen Carter audio: "It was a mistake that happened on my side...won’t happen again. I feel bad for my teammates and the fans."
• [29:40] Dan: "He got suspended for the entire game — the league may factor that in...Doesn't exonerate him, but you gotta give these things context."

Poll Question

• "Should Jalen Carter be suspended further, or was last night enough?"
• Overwhelming consensus (early returns): No further suspension necessary.
  • [58:30] Seaton: “It’s an overwhelming ‘last night was enough’...”

4. Audience & Crew Reaction: The “Spit Heard Round the World”

• Listeners call in with strong opinions: some see spitting as deserving stronger sanction; others empathize with Carter given the provocation and adrenaline of the moment.
• Broader discussion about sportsmanship, taunting, and the line between fired-up competitive play and unsportsmanlike conduct.
• Dan and crew reminisce about celebration and taunting across NFL eras, noting the influence of social media.

Notable Quotes:

• [42:09] Listener: "Spitting is something totally different. Can transmit diseases. That’s assault or battery."
• [47:50] Dan: "There’s an element of taunting that’s great for the game...but it’s a selfish moment."
• [49:30] Paulie: "I think this has gone on forever — but there was no social media to amplify the taunting.”

5. Cowboys Pain & The Watch Party

• Dallas’s shortcomings dissected — focus on CeeDee Lamb’s drops, defensive failures to stop Hurts, questions around new head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
• Shay and Irving, a superfan, delivers a hilarious but pained lament about the Cowboys letting fans down, using a Ponzi scheme as a metaphor for false hope.
• Reflections on the show’s staff watch party, the chaos of the night, and the fun of group viewing (complete with hot dogs and unbroadcastable jokes).

Memorable Moments:

• [41:44] Shay: "You can't get that many chances to win the game in the fourth quarter and come up empty. Emptier than an AA meeting on New Year’s Eve, Danny—it was nothing."
• [38:15] Dan: "You know when you have a party and then you don’t realize what the party looked like or felt like, and then you see the leftovers, the mess, and then you go, ‘Damn, somebody had a good time last night.’"

Additional Discussion Points

• Name Brand Players Matter ([31:00]): The Eagles’ collection of stars at skill positions makes defending them a nightmare—a testament to why teams pay for offensive firepower.
• Early-Season Sloppiness ([36:00]): Dan cautions listeners not to overreact to week 1 blunders — most starters didn’t play much in the preseason.
• “Unwatchable Game of the Weekend” Segment ([54:00]): Lighthearted chat about bad matchups and how sometimes the worst games yield the best endings.

Key Quotes (with Timestamps and Attribution)

• Dan [08:05]: “All of those things happened last night…If you put it in a time capsule and people go, how good was Jalen Hurts?...That would have been the game last night.”
• Dan [11:12]: “This was old-school football...I don’t care what my numbers are — we’re going to win. And he proved that.”
• Marvin [17:05]: “It's going to be so tough for him to win league MVP because he's going to get dinged for his team being so good...”
• Dak Prescott [23:10, via audio]: "I wasn’t gonna spit on my linemen. I just spit ahead...[Jalen Carter] goes, ‘You trying to spit on me?’...I wouldn’t spit on somebody.”
• Jalen Carter [24:45, via audio]: "It was a mistake that happened on my side...won’t happen again."
• Dan [29:40]: "He got suspended for the entire game—the league may factor that in. Doesn’t exonerate him for what he did…but you gotta give these things context."
• Shay and Irving [41:44]: “You can't get that many chances to win the game in the fourth quarter and come up empty. Emptier than an AA meeting on New Year’s Eve, Danny—it was nothing.”

Standout Segments

• [23:00-25:00]: Audio of both Dak Prescott and Jalen Carter, providing rare transparency on an in-game incident.
• [38:00-40:30]: Inside look at the show's viewing party, with candid shoptalk about staff personalities.
• [41:30-45:00]: Shay and Irving’s vivacious, fan-level reaction to another Cowboys letdown.

Tone & Style

• Classic Dan Patrick Show: mixture of earnest football analysis, banter, humor, irreverence, and emotional fan engagement.
• The team oscillates between dissecting deeper sports issues and riffing on the absurd, with frequent callbacks to football history and pop culture.

Conclusion

Hour 1 of this episode is a microcosm of what fans love about The Dan Patrick Show — smart, approachable sports talk that threads the needle between expertise and entertainment. With the “spit heard round the world” as its unforgettable centerpiece and Jalen Hurts’ brilliance setting the early narrative for the NFL season, Dan and the crew offer plenty to chew on as football returns.

End of Hour 1 Summary