It was hardly the only reason the Cowboys could not beat the Broncos in Week 8, but still, it was a persistent problem for Dallas, one that the team has struggled with all season: penalties, especially bone-headed ones before the snap. At 8.4 penalties per game, Dallas ranks 29th in the NFL in penalties.
Among the wave of pre-snap penalties (there were five) was a false start by left tackle Tyler Guyton, who committed his fifth penalty of the season. Thus it has gone for Guyton in his two seasons since the Cowboys made him their first-round pick in 2024, with modest improvements continually offset by mistakes.
Guyton, who had been dealing with a glute injury in practice before Week 8, has been better for the cowboys lately, but still rates a Pro Football Focus grade of just 52.7, which ranks 66th out of 77 graded tackles in the NFL this year.
Tyler Guyton ‘Has the Skills’
Despite his struggles, team owner Jerry Jones defended Guyton this week during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas.
“I am confident he has the skills and the length to overcome, what, to overcome the pre-snap penalties,” Jones said. “I have seen that done. I have seen that his first (two) years, including this year, he is out there in a pretty open space, to look at how he’s playing. He can get better. Players do get better with pre-snap—concentration, focus. They can. It usually comes at the worst times, and when it does, it can mess up a big play.
“He is unique in his talent, unique in his feet, to have the length that he’s got. I think he is gonna be a top player for us.”
Cowboys Must to ‘Look in the Mirror’
In the wake of the 44-24 humbling at the hands of the Broncos, coach Brian Schottenheimer referred consistently to the team’s ability to play through adversity–or, in the Cowboys’ case, the lack of that ability at times.
“We feel like we can play with anybody no matter how the game goes, we really do …” Schottenheimer said. “This is a good football team, talking about us, that did not play very well today. We did not coach very well today. I wasn’t very good today. I don’t think Flus (DC Matt Eberflus) thinks that he was very good today. I don’t think Klayton (Adams) thinks he was very good today. So, we’ll look at it.
“Good teams look at it, they look in the mirror. Adversity is a good thing. No one likes to lose and it’s a humbling league when you come in here and play a good football team and you get beat the way we did. But you get back to work.”
Cowboys Line, Tyler Guyton Need Consistency
At 3-4-1, the Cowboys have established themselves as a very strong offensive unit with a poor defense that tends to, overall, be inconsistent. Because of the wide-open state of the NFC playoff picture, Dallas is still very much in the mix to get back to the postseason, with ESPN projecting the Cowboys with a 19% chance to earn a spot.
But the Cowboys will need the offensive line to continue getting better, and the spotlight is on Guyton in that respect. He is the lowest rated lineman on the offense, for a line that ranks 28th in pass blocking and ninth in run blocking.
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