The Dallas Cowboys recorded an embarrassing 24-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They did not need any more reminders of the night, but thanks to Otito Ogbonnia, that wound was scraped at once again.
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The NFL has fined Ogbonnia $11,111 for a facemask penalty on Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving, according to the league’s Week 5 accountability report, which was released Saturday. The league classified the play as unnecessary roughness and logged it at 9:13 of the second quarter.
Irving gained two yards up the middle before Ogbonnia grabbed his facemask. The flag cost Dallas 15 yards and gave Tampa Bay an automatic first down. The NFL rulebook covers this type of foul under Rule 12, Section 2, Article 15, which bars players from “twist[ing], turn[ing], push[ing], or pull[ing] the facemask or helmet opening of an opponent.”
The NFL lists $11,941 as the fine for a first facemask offense. Other players fined for facemask violations this week also received different amounts, ranging from $6,750 to $11,941.
Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby drew the week’s largest fine, $23,882, for use of the helmet.
Fined players receive “a letter informing them of what they did,” plus video of the play, according to the NFL’s fines and appeals page. They can appeal to one of the league’s appeals officers; if they do not, the amount is withheld from their next game check.
The fine was a reminder of a rather disappointing show Dallas had against Tampa Bay, who were quite the surprise. The Bucs, without starting quarterback Baker Mayfield, got their first win of the season behind undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels, who went 19-of-25 for 189 yards and a touchdown without a turnover.
Irving was undoubtedly the star of the night. He ran for a career-high 165 yards, including a 72-yard run in the third quarter, and scored twice as the Bucs piled up 241 rushing yards.
Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 316 yards and two interceptions, but it couldn’t help the Cowboys. The Buccaneers came elbows out in this game; in the third quarter alone, they put up 17 points. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he was “extraordinarily, extraordinarily disappointed” by the result.
Ogbonnia came to Dallas this year, signing a one-year deal after four seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers. He started 20 of his 41 games there and played nine last season, making 10 tackles.
The league office is not new territory for him. Spotrac lists three earlier fines from his Chargers days, for a late hit and a roughing-the-passer penalty in 2024 ($5,915 each) and a striking-and-kicking infraction in 2025 ($6,554).
Ogbonnia’s flag came on a night that raised questions about the entire defense he was signed to help anchor.
Cowboys Reshuffle Defensive Staff Before Sunday Night at Lambeau Field
Dallas enters Sunday night 2-3, and the defense is the focus. After the Tampa Bay game, the Cowboys ranked 31st in total defense and 25th in scoring defense. We are not even halfway through the season, but it looks like the ghosts of Dallas’ league-worst 2025 defense are chasing the team this year.
Four of their five opponents have topped 160 rushing yards, and Dallas is allowing 168.4 per game.
First-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker took over from Matt Eberflus, whose 2025 unit ranked 32nd in points allowed. Considering how the defense is operating, there are doubts about the new DC’s true potential.
Schottenheimer resorted to solving the problem by hiring Mike Pettine, a former NFL head coach and Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator, as a senior defensive assistant.
“He’s gonna be here in a role to support everything that CP is leading and guiding,” Schottenheimer said.
Pettine, Parker, and Schottenheimer have overlaps with each other. Pettine hired Parker to be a defensive assistant at Green Bay. Schottenheimer and Pettine were offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively, for the New York Jets. The latter two coaches share a great friendship.
Dallas now heads to Lambeau Field for Sunday Night Football against the Packers, where Pettine once ran the defense and gave Parker his first NFL job in 2019. Ogbonnia, meanwhile, will want to make his presence felt in the trenches this time without making the officials’ flag collection any bigger.