Oct 29, 2025
3 min read
Throwing a false penalty occurred on the team's first drive on third-and-goal from the 1.
If the Dallas Cowboys had a completely healthy defense, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, cornerback Trevon Diggs and safeties Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson would be playing against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.However, one could argue that it would not have mattered.
The Cowboys had to play a near-perfect game to have a chance in a 44-24 loss to Dallas at Empower Field at Mile High.
Playing at an elite level would mean being basically healthy.That certainly didn't happen.Even before the Cowboys were called for three preliminary penalties in the first eight minutes, there were signs of a sloppy performance.Those inexcusable mistakes kept Dallas from getting the early lead it needed.
After a tikawe vertical traction in the opening of the game, the Cowboys are scheduled to take a 7-0 lead over the Denver line.But on third-and-1, Tyler Guyton made an early jump.His center was named Brocks Hoffman, but he was responsible for Gayton's penalty.The plan was to do it on the floor if they weren't thrown to almost 1.But things changed on fourth and 6.
"It starts with looking after ourselves," Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Monday."Why not, you're red zone number 1.
"The guys probably pushed a little bit. They wanted to get the ball in the end zone. At the end of the day, that can't happen. And we have to fix that. We're the second penalized team in the league, if not the first, and that's unacceptable."
Dallas is the second NFL team to be penalized only by the Broncos.This season, the Cowboys have 67 penalties for 555 yards: 29 for 208 yards on defense.The other 13 for 102 yards came on special teams.
|WK |Opponent |Punishment |Yard |
1 | 4 | 42 ||
2 | 12 | 106 | ||
3 | 4 | 25 ||
4 | 11 | I-95 ||
5 |11 |91 ||
6 |6 |37 ||
7|10|79||
8 |9 |80 |
Outfielder Syler Smith led all Bulls in penalties this season.He was flagged four times for holding and twice for false starts.Guyton was flagged five times: three fouls, one carrier and one for improper pitch.
Five defensive tackles, two offsides, one illegal handball, one facemask and one unnecessary tackle.
The defense contributed to a costly penalty less than a minute after Guyton Fall's start.On third-and-7 from the Broncos 29, Veteran de James Houston recorded offsides.The broncos were completely thrown on the play, which would have punted.However, the flag turned into a three-and-2.Denver has been converted and has scored six touchdowns in its first three games.
"It's a big play," former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said on the CBS telecast of the game, "because I really ran off the field. The No. 1 thing you can't stand as a coach is early penalties. You can obviously control them. It's literally just the line. Big penalty."
How will the Couna pass the time?
- Jon Machota (@jonmachahota) 27. Distopada 2025
If not for those penalties, the Cowboys could have built a two-goal lead, but instead fell behind 7-3.
"That was a big point in the game," Schottenheimer said."In no way, shape or form, I think James' Line-ups Mother.
With 7:36 left in the quarter, Guyton called the charge ahead of the Dot.The bulls faced -and-6 in 31 of them.
"That's why they're not as dominant on the road," Romo said on the air.
Eight games into the season, it is clear that Dallas has the worst defense in the league.There will not be many stops against good teams.The Broncos once put on their first nine properties on Sunday.So the cowboys are the last team that can afford mental penalties before the ball is even grabbed.
There is also the bigger problem of penalties.It looks like this will be the fifth consecutive season Dallas has been among the top 10 teams in penalties. According to NFLPenalties.com, the Cowboys had a top 10 penalty every year from 2013 to 2020. They finished 11th. Then in 2021 they led the league in penalties and have not finished outside the top 10 since.
||Ppg |range |
2015 |7,0 |13 13.
2016 |6.6 |Sixteenth |
2017 |6,0 |24. |
2018 |6.5 |21 St |
2019 |6,8 |17 |
2020 |6,0 |11.|
2021 |7,5 |1.|
2022 | 6.1 |10 |
2023 | T.Z | Watch |
2024 | street 5 |and |
2025 |Z.4 |Su |
"At the end of the day, we're 3-4-1," Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Monday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas."We've got to be better than that. That's not going to get us into the playoffs. We've got to change the narrative there. One of our top players said (after the game) that we all have to look in the mirror. It starts at the top and we all have to be better, from the officials to our staff to our coaching staff to our players."
