On the opening drive for the Cowboys in Sunday’s 44-24 loss to the Broncos, the first bad omen of the day came on a third-and-goal play from inside the 1-yard line, with Dallas set up perfectly to start the scoring with a touchdown. Instead, though, center Brock Hoffman was whistled for a false start penalty, moving the Cowboys to the 6-yard line. Dak Prescott threw an incomplete on the next play and Dallas had to settle for a field goal.
So it went for the Cowboys, who have struggled with penalties all season–at 8.4 penalties per game, Dallas ranks 29th in the NFL. On Sunday, there were five pre-snap penalties, starting with Hoffman, but including a false start by Tyler Guyton, an illegal formation by Jake Ferguson and two offsides on defenders who simply lined up wrong.
The Cowboys were penalized 80 yards on nine penalties in the game.
“Penalties,” coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “We’ve been, I think, too consistent having penalties. We need to tighten that up. That’s a discipline thing that we need to do a better job of as a coaching staff.”
Cowboys Badly in Need of Discipline
But the question is, what will Schottenheimer do to “tighten that up?” The Cowboys have talked about penalties all season, and certainly, things got loud in Denver on Sunday. That’s no excuse for lining up wrong, however.
Schottenheimer was asked if it may be time to start disciplining players who continue to make these mistakes–even, it was suggested, cutting back their playing time and benching them for others.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Schottenheimer said. “The pre-snaps are the ones. … That’s a discipline thing, you know? That’s something that needs to be looked at.
“Again, when you play on the edge, that is going to happen from a combative standpoint. But not lining up offsides. Not false-starting on the half-yard line. But again, everything will be evaluated, I can promise you that, everything will be evaluated. From the penalties to the calls that we made to players, everything.”
Brian Schottenheimer: ‘Adversity Is a Good Thing’
Still, despite the frustration of sitting at 3-4-1 and seemingly unable to establish a consistent and winning style of play, Schottenheimer is hoping to find some positives coming out of Sunday. The team is facing adversity, and so far, it has responded well to the disappointments of this season.
“Good teams look at it, they look in the mirror,” Schottenheimer said. “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 Need to Do More Than Talk
Ah, but Schottenheimer and the Cowboys have been preaching that message for two months now, and still, consistency and discipline are lacking. It could be time to start sitting players who are costing the team with mental mistakes.
Prescott did not go so far as to say that, but he did call on teammates to do some serious soul-searching.
“It’s about what you’re doing, what you’re putting into this game,” Prescott said. “It’s not just about Sunday. As I said, Sunday is a result of the week. It’s about when you’re in the building for one thing or when you’re outside of the building, the film study you’re doing, all the work that you’re doing to make sure you don’t let your teammates down and more importantly that you’re ready to make the plays when they come your way.
“Adversity reveals character. Adversity builds character.”
If that’s true, safe to say, the Cowboys must be loaded with character by now.
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