Dallas Cowboys Were Just as Undisciplined as Their Opponents in 2025

While the Cowboys' opponents did them a favor with penalties in 2026, Dallas didn't do themselves any favors with their own.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Discipline was a huge issue for the Dallas Cowboys during the 2025 campaign.

As if the Cowboys weren't battling enough last season, the team also shot itself in the foot far too often when it came to penalties.

According to NFLPenalties.com, the Cowboys had the second-most penalty yards and most accepted penalties in 2025, with Dallas racking up 133 flags for 1,136 yards. The Denver Broncos were the only team with more penalty yards (1,174).

In all, the Cowboys had 163 flags thrown against them in 2025, the second-most behind the Tennessee Titans. We also know there were plenty of penalties missed, so the numbers could've been higher.

On the flip side, the Cowboys were also the beneficiary of having the second-most penalty yards coming from their opponents in the NFL, with Dallas' foes raking in 1,142 yards last season.

Of the Cowboys' 133 accepted penalties against them, over one-third of them (46) came before the snap.

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer touched on the subject on several occasions throughout last year, from the preseason through the regular season, but things never got better.

What's behind the penalties?

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Of course, penalties have a lot to do with the players.

Discipline is one aspect of it, but skill is another. If a player is going to get beat on any given snap on either side of the ball, chances are they will draw a flag trying to recover.

Dallas also had one of the youngest teams in the NFL at the start of last season and we know younger players are more prone to making mistakes.

Coaching is another issue. The staff has to make penalties a big point of emphasis when they're an issue. It also helps to punish players who are routinely setting the team back.

If you ask Schottenheimer, penalties really start with the coaching staff, not with the players.

"If we’re not a disciplined football team, that starts with me as a head coach and the coaching staff," Schottenheimer said last year.

Can a highly-penalized team have success?

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

It would obviously be ideal for the Cowboys to clean this up in a big way in 2026, as doing so would make their lives much easier, but there is a precedent for teams still having success despite being highly-penalized.

Just look at last season, for example. Of the 10 teams at the top of the list of most accepted penalties, five of them (Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles) made the playoffs.

That said, the Cowboys are going to have to play a better brand of football than they have the past two seasons in order to overcome another penalty-plagued campaign.

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