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FRISCO, TX — I could begin this week's Science Lab column by saying something like "the biggest test of the season is on the way for the Dallas Cowboys", but that would be disingenuous considering the entire season to this point has been a series of "biggest tests".
The issue with the Cowboys hasn't been what other teams are doing to them. It's what they're doing to themselves. Last week alone, they suffered 14 penalties for a total of 153 yards.
That's almost 80 percent of CeeDee Lamb's total production against the Colts (195 yards), and 13 more yards lost to penalties in Indianapolis than was gained in the receiving game by Ryan Flournoy, Jonathan Mingo, Jake Ferguson, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Javonte Williams and Jordan Hudson — combined.
Read that sentence again, and try to keep your Fruity Pebbles down while doing it.
What's worse is those 14 penalties mark a season-high in that category, and Dallas isn't showing improvement in the category over stretches of time. They're averaging more than eight penalties per game for an average of 74 yards per game given back to the other team.
Laundry Day, Weekly
In all, the Cowboys have committed a total of 74 penalties through nine games, costing the team a total of 667 yards (236 yards of offense, 355 yards of defense, 76 yards on special teams), and that's only accounting for the ones that were either enforced/ accepted, not declined by the opposition.
They are currently tied for second-worst in the league in penalties enforced against them, behind only the Cleveland Browns … but …
For context, the Browns have lost nearly 100 yards fewer than the Cowboys despite having eight more penalties enforced against them. That makes the Cowboys the single-worst team in the league in yardage lost due to enforced penalties (32 more yards lost to penalty than the 31st-ranked Panthers in that category).
There was so much yellow on the field in Indy that it looked like a Mario Kart track.
The breakdown of enforced penalties per game are as follows:
- Week 1 vs. NYG: delay of game, defensive offside, unnecessary roughness, low block, illegal shift, neutral zone infraction, offensive holding, illegal use of hands, taunting, face mask
- Week 2 vs. WAS: lowering the head to make forcible contact, kickoff short of landing zone, defensive holding, offensive holding (x2)
- Week 3 vs. BAL: kickoff out of bounds (x2), defensive pass interference (x2), offensive holding, false start
- Week 4 vs. HOU: intentional grounding, unnecessary roughness, offensive holding, fase start, neutral zone infraction, defensive offside,
- Week 5 vs. TB: defensive holding, illegal contact, neutral zone infraction, offensive holding (x2), face mask, defensive pass interference
- Week 6 vs. GB: neutral zone infraction, false start, ineligible downfield pass, illegal use of hands, offensive holding, defensive pass interference (x2), delay of game, offensive holding (x4), unnecessary roughness
- Week 7 vs. PHI: neutral zone infraction, offensive holding (x2), encroachment, defensive offside, roughing the passer, defensive pass interference, delay of game
- Week 8 vs. AZ: neutral zone infraction, defensive offside, defensive pass interference, defensive holding, offensive holding, kickoff short of landing zone, roughing the passer
- Week 9 vs. IND: offensive holding (x4), ineligible downfield pass, false start, illegal shift, offensive pass interference (x3), kickoff short of landing zone, defensive pass interference, unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct
When also considering what type of penalty, and the timing of it, the Cowboys really have been their own worst enemy this season.
The Science of 'When' and 'Why'
One example of that would be the roughing the passer on a critical late-game defensive stop, on 3rd-and-10, against the Cardinals that would've forced a field goal attempt, instead extending the drive to an eventual touchdown that shrink Arizona's deficit to 27-24 and, lo and behold, they wound up winning by three points in overtime.
Another example of this is when there's an inactive player — "in a blue sweatsuit and stocking cap" — drawing a flag and worsening field position for the already-struggling offense after a critical defensive forced fumble and recovery.
That penalty moved the Cowboys from their 33-yard line to their own 18-yard line, and they ended up punting five plays later while nursing a narrow 20-17 lead.
On the next possession, the Colts kicked a field goal to tie the game at 20-20.
Ultimately, the Cowboys were able to escape another self-inflicted demise, in part thanks to the Colts having nine penalties of their own.
And while some of the penalties were admittedly either ticky tack or outright controversial (ask CeeDee Lamb about the OPIs versus Indy), but there is no way to reasonably place off of the blame on the subjectivity of NFL officiating.
Some, yes. Most, or all? Spare me.
Discipline ... or Disappointment
Entering their Week 10 matchup against the 49ers — 7-1 to this point and who traded at the deadline to acquire six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen at the NFL deadline — the task is already tall for a Cowboys (4-5) roster ravaged by injury on defense and hoping it'll have both George Pickens and Joey Porter Jr. back for this contest.
They'll have to play a near-perfect game in all three phases of the game to take down the 49ers, a demon they've failed to exorcise time and again, and at AT&T Stadium, where the Cowboys are currently 1-3 in 2026, and 5-6-1 since 2025.
"We pointed [the penalties] out. Sloppy. Not good enough. I think there was two pre-snap, which is a positive. We've been averaging about seven penalties a game, so we were twice the average. Not good enough at all. The individual this week will be really important to getting that stuff cleaned up." - Brian Schottenheimer
The quickest way to guarantee a loss, and possibly an embarrassing one, will be for Dallas to turn the field yellow — again. It's reasonable to believe that the chances of the Cowboys being above .500 right now are monumentally increased without the number, timing and types of penalties allowed thus far.
But until they get that under control, the roller coaster ride will continue, at least until the inevitable brick wall arrives.
Self-discipline … the most controllable of all the controllables.
It doesn't matter what you're doing in life, without discipline, prepare for disappointment. And seeing as the Cowboys have already had plenty of the latter, it's past time to choose the other thing.
