‘Inexcusable!’ Coach Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys: New Year, Same Penalty Problem

A new season brings the same worrisome penalty woes for the Cowboys.

In Sunday’s season-opening 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there were several glaring issues for the Dallas Cowboys. From the offensive woes to the defense's inability to stop the run, not much of anything went right for the Cowboys in Week 1.

However, aside from the injury to quarterback Dak Prescott, there might not be a more pressing issue for the Cowboys than their penalty issues. 

In 2021 the Cowboys were the most penalized team in the NFL with a whopping 127 penalties, a trend they hoped would not carry over to the new season. 

After just one game, it appears those hopes would not come to fruition, as the Cowboys were called for 10 penalties in the loss to the Buccaneers. 

The Cowboys' 10 penalties are tied for third most in the NFL in Week 1 with the Philadelphia Eagles, just behind the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers who had 13 and 12 respectively. 

Of Dallas' 10 penalties, four were false starts. For an offense that struggled to find any semblance of a rhythm, false start penalties are the fastest ways to kill a drive. Sure, a 10-yard holding penalty costs you more yards, but going from 1st and 10 to 1st and 15 consistently will make life for the offense difficult. 

Cowboys right tackle Terence Steele addressed his four flags.

Said Steele: “I had three presnap penalties. It’s inexcusable. That’s something you can’t have. Coach puts a big emphasis on it.”

But Mike McCarthy’s “emphasis” obviously has not taken.

Now with Prescott set to miss multiple weeks as he is getting surgery, this Dallas offense simply cannot afford to be as heavily penalized as it was here. Oh, and if they thought struggling to consistently string drives together with Prescott was rough, well, doing so with Cooper Rush will be all the more difficult.

However, it is only one game and therefore drawing a concrete conclusion this early would be foolish. If this trend continues, though, and the Cowboys continue to be one of the most penalized teams in the NFL?

Prescott or no Prescott, it could be a long season for the Cowboys. And it could speed a shorter run for the head coach.

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