The Dallas Cowboys can at least feel good about a 27-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9, but there’s still a lot to be desired.
The Cowboys outgained the Colts 508-271, which should have signaled a blowout win if no one checked the scoreboard. That wasn’t the case, though, and there was a clear reason: penalties.
Dallas was called on 14 of them for 153 yards. Those key penalties included a CeeDee Lamb pass-interference call and a DeMarvion Overshown unsportsmanlike conduct penalty despite not playing in the game. This led many Cowboys players to answer for the big mistakes in the game.
Dallas Cowboys Talking Penalties in Week 9 Win
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer spoke with the media on Monday, where he was asked if “undisciplined” would be the word to describe the team. Schottenheimer had no argument there.
“I would say that word is accurate. It was undisciplined. It needs to be better.”
A follow-up question was regarding whether that was on the players or the coaches. Schottenheimer is pointing the finger at everyone.
“All of us.”
On if that’s more on coaches or players: “All of us.”
Dallas is tied for the second-most penalties committed in the NFL with 74. The Cowboys lead the league in penalty yards collected with 667.
Cowboys Addressing Penalty Concerns Before Week 10
While the Cowboys might be 4-5 and getting the season back on track, they still have major problems to solve. They seem to have resolved their offensive and defensive woes, but penalties could still be a killer.
Schottenheimer and his staff are working to fix that, including with Overshown running onto the field in street clothes to celebrate. The head coach made sure to talk about that with his young defender.
“Addressed it 1-on-1 with D-Mo first. Addressed it with the football team. Totally unacceptable and it won’t happen again. … He understands that was unacceptable and can’t happen. Our meeting was very straightforward.”
Dallas’s coaching staff even spent time in a team meeting breaking down each penalty. Schottenheimer is focused on correcting it right away.
“We actually watched all 14 of them in the team meeting; we pointed it out. Sloppy. Not good enough. I think there were two pre-snap, which is a positive. I think we were averaging seven a game, so we were twice the average. Not good enough at all. We showed all the penalties from the PIs to the holdings. … Sloppy fundamentals.”
Week 10 is around the corner, and the Cowboys have a tough matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. Dallas can’t afford another game with 14 penalties, or a team like San Francisco will take advantage.
Brian Schottenheimer Assigns Blame for ‘Undisciplined’ Mistakes in Cowboys Win