Dallas Cowboys penalties directly related to all three losses

Penalties are bad. This statement is neither ground breaking nor controversial. While stretching the limits as to what is legal is often good business, crossing the line repeatedly can be detrimental. The Dallas Cowboys know this firsthand.

On Sunday in Green Bay, the Dallas Cowboys were penalized eight times, their third most this year. It shouldn’t be shocking to hear the only times they were flagged more often were their two other losses this season.

There’s a direct relationship between penalties and losing, a causation the Dallas Cowboys know all too well this season.

The Dallas Cowboys were the most penalized team in the NFL last season and this year they aren’t doing much better. Dallas is technically the fifth most penalized team in the NFL this year but since three-of-four teams “ahead” of them have played 10 games, a case can be made the Cowboys are the second most penalized team this year.

Penalties have become a staple of the Mike McCarthy era in Dallas and it’s something that doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.

Is it McCarthy’s fault?

kinda.

Is it the players’ fault?

Oh, for sure.

What about the refs? 

Don’t get me started…

This issue is about as black and white as politics in America. Everyone is to blame, easy fixes don’t exist, and the general public is left to suffer.

Jalen Tolbert lining up offsides is inexcusable. He was offsides from the start and took too long to check with the line judge (I don’t buy the excuse the LJ told him to be offsides).

While the blame falls on Tolbert, this wouldn’t be a problem if capable veteran WRs were on the roster and the Cowboys weren’t forced to play a rookie from South Alabama with one career catch on his resume.

Penalties have become a staple of the Mike McCarthy era in Dallas and it’s something that doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.

Accountability has been an issue for quite some time now and it stretches evenly across both sides of the ball. Kellen Moore’s offense has 28 penalties for 201 yards. Dan Quinn’s defense has 27 penalties for 235 yards. Even “Bones” Fassel’s guys have nine flags for 65 yards this year, which is horrific if you compare it on a penalties/snap basis.

Speaking of special teams, the critical late flag on Kelvin Joseph for that blindside block was nothing short bull excrement. It was a bad call at a critical point in the game.

As was the ticky-tacky holding call on Connor McGovern that usually goes uncalled nine-of-10 times. And lest we forget the extremely obvious third down pass interference by Jaire Alexander that went suspiciously uncalled.

The officiating in Green Bay was egregious, to say the least, and the fact all of these happened late when the game was fully in the balance is eyebrow raising. But bad calls are part of the game and Dallas’ reputation for accruing well-deserved penalties does little to help them.

Clearly the Dallas Cowboys should never have been in a position for terrible calls to impact the outcome in the first place. Superior teams are expected to produce superior results – not cough up a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Players and coaches can’t dwell on bad calls because that type of martyrdom can be cancerous in a locker room. But if Dak Prescott’s attitude is any indication of the team’s mindset,  that’s not something Dallas Cowboys fans have to worry about.

Penalties are a problem. The Dallas Cowboys have eight or more penalties in four games this season and three of those have resulted in losses. The penalties are evenly dispersed throughout the team and are made up deserving calls, questionable calls, and bad calls.

The front office is to blame for forcing so many young players into the lineup, coaches are to blame for preparation and accountability, players are to blame for lack of execution, and NFL officials are to blame for some very catastrophic bad calls.

The Dallas Cowboys have to focus on what they can control, but to what extent remains to be seen. Will the front office look for veteran solutions? Will the coaching staff hold players accountable? Will players pull their heads out of their…well…you get it.

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We shall see because this can’t continue as is and lip service isn’t helping anyone.