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The Cowboys had a well-documented penalty problem under head coach Mike McCarthy, ranking among the league's most-penalized teams every year from 2021 on.
The trend has continued in Brian Schottenheimer's first season.
Dallas finished the 2025 regular season with 133 accepted penalties, the most in the NFL. And those miscues were costly; their 1,136 penalty yards were the second-most in the league. That's giving up an average of over 66 yards of field position per game.
Factor in 30 more calls that were either declined by opponents or offset by other infractions, and the Cowboys were still the second-most flagged team in the NFL.
Overall, drilling down on discipline and eliminating mental mistakes is sure to be a point of emphasis as Schottenheimer and his staff prepare for 2026. But a closer look inside the ongoing penalty problem shows specific areas- and even players- that may need special attention before the yellow flags start flying once again next season.
Tyler Smith, Tyler Guyton, and George Pickens were tied for the most accepted penalties among Cowboys players, with seven apiece. Markquese Bell had six; Tyler Booker and Marist Liufau racked up five each.
Guyton was the team's most penalized player last year; Smith took top honors in both 2023 and 2022.
This season, Smith led the Cowboys with 10 total flags (two were declined; one was offsetting), but 32 players across the league had more.
Offensive holding was the most frequently-called penalty against Dallas, as well as the most common foul across the league. But the Cowboys were tied with Buffalo as the worst offenders, with yardage walked off for it 31 times this season. That's 10 more holding calls than the NFL season average for 2025.
The Cowboys' most-committed penalties after offensive holding were: false start (23), unnecessary roughness (10), defensive pass interference (8), and defensive offside (8).
The Cowboys' 10 calls for unnecessary roughness were tied with San Francisco as the most by any team. The eight times being called for defensive offside represented the second-most leaguewide for that foul.
The Cowboys had 46 pre-snap penalties accepted this season; only seven teams had more. While that total is slightly down from last year's 52, it's still in the same bottom-tier neighborhood the team has been in the last five years, clearly indicating an ongoing issue in that particular area.
Only one team in the NFL was flagged for making an invalid fair catch signal. It was Dallas... and it actually happened twice; KaVontae Turpin did it in Week 12 versus Philadelphia and then again two weeks later against Detroit. (It only counted once, though; the Lions declined it.)
Officials threw a flag for a horse-collar tackle four times all season. The Cowboys were responsible for two of them, the most in the league, with Reddy Steward and Trevon Diggs committing the foul.
The Cowboys were dinged for unsportsmanlike conduct four times, the most of any team. Of those four flags, two came against Pickens. The other two were both thrown by Alex Moore's crew in Week 5's win over the Jets.
There was frequent confusion for Matt Eberflus's defense, with Dallas often unable to even line up properly. Their three penalties for having too many men on the field were tied for the most in the league.
Sometimes those little yellow flags even went the Cowboys' way. Dallas drew 20 defensive pass interference calls this season, the most of any team. That's no surprise, given the team's deadly wide-receiving duo of Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, who both finished in the NFL's top five for number of targets on which DPI was called.
Those pass interference calls awarded 281 yards to the Cowboys, also the most in the league.
No quarterback took more illegal hits in 2025 than Dak Prescott. The eight roughing the passer penalties that were accepted were the most by any team in the league. They were also the biggest beneficiary in terms of yardage gained as a result of those calls, with 108.
Todd is on X at @ToddBrock24f7. Also, follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys were most-penalized team again in NFL in 2025
Continue reading...
The trend has continued in Brian Schottenheimer's first season.
Dallas finished the 2025 regular season with 133 accepted penalties, the most in the NFL. And those miscues were costly; their 1,136 penalty yards were the second-most in the league. That's giving up an average of over 66 yards of field position per game.
Factor in 30 more calls that were either declined by opponents or offset by other infractions, and the Cowboys were still the second-most flagged team in the NFL.
Overall, drilling down on discipline and eliminating mental mistakes is sure to be a point of emphasis as Schottenheimer and his staff prepare for 2026. But a closer look inside the ongoing penalty problem shows specific areas- and even players- that may need special attention before the yellow flags start flying once again next season.
Most penalized players
Tyler Smith, Tyler Guyton, and George Pickens were tied for the most accepted penalties among Cowboys players, with seven apiece. Markquese Bell had six; Tyler Booker and Marist Liufau racked up five each.
Guyton was the team's most penalized player last year; Smith took top honors in both 2023 and 2022.
This season, Smith led the Cowboys with 10 total flags (two were declined; one was offsetting), but 32 players across the league had more.
Most common penalties
Offensive holding was the most frequently-called penalty against Dallas, as well as the most common foul across the league. But the Cowboys were tied with Buffalo as the worst offenders, with yardage walked off for it 31 times this season. That's 10 more holding calls than the NFL season average for 2025.
The Cowboys' most-committed penalties after offensive holding were: false start (23), unnecessary roughness (10), defensive pass interference (8), and defensive offside (8).
The Cowboys' 10 calls for unnecessary roughness were tied with San Francisco as the most by any team. The eight times being called for defensive offside represented the second-most leaguewide for that foul.
Pre-snap penalties
The Cowboys had 46 pre-snap penalties accepted this season; only seven teams had more. While that total is slightly down from last year's 52, it's still in the same bottom-tier neighborhood the team has been in the last five years, clearly indicating an ongoing issue in that particular area.
Other noteworthy anomalies
Only one team in the NFL was flagged for making an invalid fair catch signal. It was Dallas... and it actually happened twice; KaVontae Turpin did it in Week 12 versus Philadelphia and then again two weeks later against Detroit. (It only counted once, though; the Lions declined it.)
Officials threw a flag for a horse-collar tackle four times all season. The Cowboys were responsible for two of them, the most in the league, with Reddy Steward and Trevon Diggs committing the foul.
The Cowboys were dinged for unsportsmanlike conduct four times, the most of any team. Of those four flags, two came against Pickens. The other two were both thrown by Alex Moore's crew in Week 5's win over the Jets.
There was frequent confusion for Matt Eberflus's defense, with Dallas often unable to even line up properly. Their three penalties for having too many men on the field were tied for the most in the league.
Calls benefitting Cowboys
Sometimes those little yellow flags even went the Cowboys' way. Dallas drew 20 defensive pass interference calls this season, the most of any team. That's no surprise, given the team's deadly wide-receiving duo of Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, who both finished in the NFL's top five for number of targets on which DPI was called.
Those pass interference calls awarded 281 yards to the Cowboys, also the most in the league.
No quarterback took more illegal hits in 2025 than Dak Prescott. The eight roughing the passer penalties that were accepted were the most by any team in the league. They were also the biggest beneficiary in terms of yardage gained as a result of those calls, with 108.
Todd is on X at @ToddBrock24f7. Also, follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys were most-penalized team again in NFL in 2025
Continue reading...
