The Dallas Cowboys‘ 2025 season is a mess, and the main reason is a shocking lack of discipline. They are one of the most penalized teams in the NFL, which was painfully clear in their recent 44-24 defeat to the Denver Broncos. This problem with penalties is costing the Cowboys everything: yards, momentum, and points. They currently sit at 29th in the league, averaging 8.4 penalties per game. 

This consistent lack of discipline has fans and the media furious. 105.3 The FAN, a major Dallas sports radio station, didn’t hold back, demanding the new head coach be held accountable, just like Mike McCarthy. As they took it to X;

“We destroyed Mike McCarthy for this, deservedly so. We gotta start going at Brian Schottenheimer for penalties. … The #DallasCowboys for a long time have been a dumb football team.” 

Brian Schottenheimer, who was promoted to Head Coach this past January to replace McCarthy, is feeling the heat. After the loss, he faced the issue head-on and talked about how he is planning to sort the issue of penalties, Schottenheimer stated. 

“We’ve been, I think, too consistent having penalties. We need to tighten that up. That’s a discipline thing that we need to do a better job of as a coaching staff.”

While he took responsibility as part of the staff, Schottenheimer also drew a line in the sand. He made it clear that simply talking about the penalties is over, suggesting that benching players for repeated mistakes is now a real possibility. 

How is Brian Schottenheimer responsible for the Cowboys’ penalty issues?

The Cowboys’ big loss to the Broncos was a perfect storm of bad defense and questionable coaching decisions by Brian Schottenheimer.

Right off the bat, the Cowboys got the ball near the goal line after an interception. Instead of just running the ball with their reliable running back, Javonte Williams, for an easy touchdown, Schottenheimer complicated the situation and called a pass. After a penalty pushed them back, they had to settle for a field goal, throwing away a chance to take a 7-0 lead. It looked like he was overthinking a simple situation.

Later in the game, his poor judgment was even more costly, especially since the defense was playing terribly. Twice, in crucial fourth-down moments—once on 4th-and-1, and later on 4th-and-6 he chose to punt the ball away. He was betting on his defense to stop the Broncos and win the “field position game.” That was a huge mistake. Both times he punted, the Broncos drove down the field and scored a touchdown. This sealed the Cowboys’ fate.

The main problem is the defense, but Schottenheimer’s choices made everything worse. He needs to realize that with a defense this bad, playing safe and conservative doesn’t work. 

The team has to be aggressive and play to their offense’s strengths. His inability to adjust to the game situation was badly exposed in the 44-24 loss. But it might also have publicized the team’s problem, providing the coach an opportunity to hone his play tricks for the upcoming week’s game.