During the 2022 season, the Cowboys have had several issues that have required fixes on the fly. One of them was his poor performance in the passing game, a facet in which an improvement has been noted. Then the attention turned to run defense, something that had plagued them for most of the season. However, Dallas showed improvement stopping the powerful attacks of Minnesota and New York in this way.
However, the Cowboys have a problem that they still can’t fix. A problem that has been dragging on since last season, and that came to light again against the Giants on Thursday: penalties.
During the Thanksgiving game against New York, Dallas received a total of 13 penalties for 86 penalty yards, the most notorious on defense. Such was the case with Carlos Watkins’ holding that gave continuity to the series where the Giants achieved their first TD of the game. And let’s not forget Trevon Diggs’ illegal contact that negated a Donovan Wilson interception late in the second quarter, either.
DaRon Bland hands to the face negates a potential 3rd and 7; Trevon Diggs’ illegal contact negates a Donovan Wilson pick. On Giants’ TD drive, Carlos Watkins’ hold wipes out third down stop. Referee Scott Novak getting a lot of TV time today.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) November 24, 2022
In fact, the Cowboys’ numerous first-half penalties, plus the Giants’ lead, made one think of the worst. And it is not for less, because we have already seen in other games how those punishments end up costing the cowboy team matches. However, Dallas managed to turn the score around in the second half and take the win.
Despite this, penalties remain a critical problem for the cowboy team.
Right now, the Cowboys have a total of 83 penalties so far this season. This leaves them temporarily tied with the Broncos for first place in this stat in the NFL. And although this may vary after the games on Sunday (including the one in Denver), it is still an alarming fact.
Additionally, Dallas’ 13 penalties on Thursday tie the record for most penalties in a game so far this season. This places them next to the Broncos and the Jaguars, the latter twice. To be one of the problems to be solved since 2021, it is worrying that the cowboy team will once again be among the first in the NFL in this statistic.
The 13 penalties assessed against the Cowboys today matched the season-high assessed any team in single game this NFL season. Jacksonville has had two 13-penalty games & Denver one. It’s also the 3rd consecutive game the Scott Novak crew has slapped 10+ penalties in the Cowboys.
—Rick Gosselin (@RickGosselin9) November 25, 2022
One possible explanation for the large number of penalties against the Giants was given by Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. According to McCarthy, this may be due to the short preparation leading up to this game. He thus let it be seen in some statements this Friday.
“When you play on Thanksgiving week, your volume is always your biggest challenge”McCarthy said. “I learned a long time ago that when your mental errors go up, your volume has to go down. That is something we are going to look at very carefully when we meet again.”
Along the same lines, quarterback Dak Prescott also noted that correcting the penalty problem should be a priority for the team. This is how he let it be seen in his statements after the game against the Giants.
“First of all, we must stop the penalties and be more disciplined”Prescott said Thursday night. “We need to stop hurting each other on drives, whether it’s creating turnovers, being too aggressive, being out of step with the receivers, or making false starts. We have to clean all those things.”
Dak Prescott to Dalton Schultz, capping the 14-play, 75-yard drive filled with more penalties
Cowboys 14, Giants 13
(Video: @nfl) pic.twitter.com/Q45BATziPd
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 24, 2022
As we have seen, the Cowboys have progressively corrected various problems in their game. However, penalties remain a pressing problem. With the team on the way to the postseason, this needs to be resolved as soon as possible. Otherwise, these mistakes could cost Dallas important games again, just as they did against the 49ers in the 2021 playoffs.
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The Cowboys still have a serious problem to correct in their game