Wade Phillips used to say there was no clear correlation between penalties and winning or losing over the long term, and perhaps he's right. The Cowboys are 3-3 on the season, despite their opponents having committed the fewest penalties against them of any team.
Teams playing the Cowboys have been penalized only 28 times on the year for 186 yards, including zero penalties called against the New York Jets in Week 1.
Of course, only half of the league has had its bye week to this point, and the Cowboys are in that category. But of the teams who have already played seven games, Minnesota's opponents have committed the fewest penalties against them, at 38.
Cowboys opponents are averaging 4.67 penalties per game, while the Cowboys themselves have been flagged an average of 7.33 times per contest.
This actually isn't a huge departure from 2010, when the Cowboys' opponents tied for the second-fewest penalties against them, with 79, and were second in yards allowed by penalty as well, with 641. The Cowboys were themselves penalized 109 times in 2010, sixth-most in the league.
As for this Sunday's opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, they've been flagged 37 times this season, tied for ninth-fewest in the league.
