DMN Blog: Penalty history isn't on Cowboys' side

by Brian Davis

On Monday's Cowboys chat, I got a bunch of questions about why the Cowboys have so many penalties. Your Cowboys current have drawn a league-high 115 flags this season. That's 10 more than Oakland and Tennessee, who are tied for second with 105 penalties.

Look at the penalty yardage, too. The Cowboys could pile up more than 1,000 penalty yards this season. They have 911 yards so far. In Week 2, the Cowboys had 10 penalties for 108 yards. So there's something good to shoot for, eh?

Anyway, I wondered aloud where the last 10 Super Bowl winners ranked in terms of penalties that season. So I sat down this morning, did a little research and came up with this chart.

You'll quickly notice a trend. To win the Super Bowl, you can't make dumb mistakes. The last four years, the world champion ranked near the bottom of the league penalties. I just looked at the total number of penalties during the regular season. You could just divide the total by 16 to get penalties per game. But the total number gives you a good idea.

Bottom line: Stupid offside penalties, false starts and the occasional 12 men on the field penalty will ultimately catch up with the Cowboys, should they make the postseason.

Season, Super Bowl winner, Penalties, NFL rank

2007, New York, 77, 27th
2006, Indianapolis, 86, 26th
2005, Pittsburgh, 99, T-25th
2004, New England, 101, 27th
2003, New England, 111, T-10th
2002, Tampa Bay, 103, T-18th
2001, New England, 92, 17th
2000, Baltimore, 95, T-20th
1999, St. Louis, 113, 11th
1998, Denver, 115, 15th
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Wow. How the heck does Tennessee have all those penalties and still have 13 wins?

This Cowboys team had better smarter up real quick.