The NFL's first kickoff return touchdown of the season was erased by penalties and two players were ejected before the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles had run a single offensive play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
Eagles kicker Jake Elliott sent the opening kickoff 55 yards to the Jacksonville 10-yard line, where returner Josh Cameron took it back 90 yards for an apparent touchdown. Officials, however, had thrown multiple flags on the play. The touchdown was nullified because Philadelphia lined up in an illegal formation and Jacksonville linebacker Branson Combs was called for holding.
The chaos did not end there. Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Jaguars linebacker Bryan Thomas Jr. were both flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after a block during the return escalated into a confrontation at midfield. Trotter slammed Thomas to the turf after the play, and Thomas kicked up at Trotter while on his back. Both players were disqualified for the remainder of the game on a play that did not count.
The ejections carried different weight for each team. Trotter was expected to see work with the Eagles' starting defense, while Thomas contributes almost exclusively on special teams. It took officials several minutes to sort out the sequence of fouls and announce the penalties.
The bizarre start came during a week in which NFL officiating was already under intense scrutiny. Two referees, Jeff Seeman and Adrian Hill, were suspended after unprofessional clashes with players in Week 4, and league executives and coaches have publicly urged the NFL to rein in what they described as out-of-control officials, hoping suspensions signal a new standard.
Philadelphia's first possession produced another unusual moment for the heavily pro-Eagles crowd. Facing fourth-and-1, the Eagles lined up in shotgun and ran the ball rather than using the Tush Push, the short-yardage play the team popularized. The conversion attempt failed.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts has been nursing a calf injury, and the offensive line remains a work in progress. Philadelphia was without starting center Drew Kendall, traded left guard Cam Jurgens to the Baltimore Ravens last week, and saw right tackle Lane Johnson retire. Those absences raised questions about why coach Nick Sirianni chose to go for it on fourth-and-1 at all.
By the time the dust settled, the game had already delivered a season-first touchdown that never was, two ejections on a nullified play, and a failed fourth-down gamble in a stadium packed with Philadelphia fans. The opening minutes in London were, by any measure, bonkers from the beginning.