The teams combined for 25 penalties, but Dallas did the majority of the damage.
The Cowboys were penalized 17 times for 129 yards in their 17-7 loss. To compare, they gained 141 yards rushing and 175 yards passing.
Though Dallas sat most of its starters, coach Mike McCarthy still came away from the contest extremely disappointed with his team’s undisciplined play.
“The penalties are clearly too much,” he said.
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McCarthy thought the same at halftime. He was angry when asked about Dallas’ penalty issues after the team had committed nine and 65 yards in the first half.
“It’s not good enough football,” he said. “It’s not good enough. We have to be better there.”
Penalty issues are nothing new for the Cowboys. Dallas led the NFL with 127 penalties in 2021, per NFLPenalties.com. Those infractions cost the Cowboys 1,103 yards — second to only the Raiders, who were assessed 1,104 yards in penalties.
Dallas’ lack of discipline cost the team dearly during the postseason. The Cowboys committed 14 penalties, tying an NFL record, in their 23-17 NFC wild-card game loss at home to the 49ers.
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McCarthy said at his season-closing media availability following that defeat that he would make eliminating penalties a priority ahead of the 2022 NFL season.
“Our No. 1 focus going forward is the penalties,” he said. “There were far too many.”
The Cowboys still have work to do in that area, if their preseason debut is any indication. Perhaps things will get better when their starters take the field, but McCarthy and Co. have to be discouraged with the early lack of discipline.
