SEATTLE — The Dallas Cowboys drew 13 penalties for 103 yards Saturday night, 34 of those yards on the opening drive of the game. They won 17-7 at Lumen Field anyway.
Seattle needed 13 plays to go 80 yards on that first possession. A pass interference call and a face mask were among the flags that helped move it.
Where The Yards Went
The Seattle Seahawks were flagged 8 times for 71 yards. Between them, the teams drew 21 penalties for 174 yards.
Dallas ran 63 offensive plays and gained 338 yards. Seattle ran 52 for 156. The Cowboys picked up 21 first downs to Seattle’s 14, converted 11 of 15 third downs, held the ball for 32:55, and did not allow a sack.
None of that changed after halftime. Dallas kept drawing flags and kept moving the ball.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said the game had a muffed punt in it and a first-half play where Jonathan Mingo stopped a punt return. Both teams got flagged all night.
“Jonathan Mingo, I think it was the first half, made an incredible play on a punt return, stopped it,” Schottenheimer said. “And then obviously we muffed the fumble there late, defense goes right back out there. A little bit of training camp football, a little sloppy. That’s kind of what you deal with.
“But overall, I thought the team effort to get the win against a good opponent was really good,” Schottenheimer continued. “Things we obviously need to clean up, the penalties. They threw a lot of penalties, really on both teams. But that’s what the preseason’s for. Work on your hand placement, get better. But overall, I was really, really proud of our guys.”
What The Defense Gave Away
Early penalties handed Seattle hidden yards, and Schottenheimer said the defense was sloppy before it settled.
The Seahawks did not score again after the opening drive. They gained 76 yards over their final seven possessions, made four red-zone trips, and came away with 7 points. Seattle went 6-of-12 on third down and did not convert either fourth-down try.
One flag went the other way. Dallas accepted a penalty that took away work by James Houston, who had a sack in the second quarter and was unhappy with the call.
The win mattered to Curtis Robinson regardless of the setting, and the defense produced third- and fourth-down stops he called critical. The penalties are what the team harped on afterward.
“First and foremost, it’s always cool to get a win to start off the season, whether it’s preseason or regular season,” Robinson said. “So we’re all excited about that. But I think the big thing we harped on was the penalties. That’s obviously the biggest thing we got to clean up going forward.
“It was cool to see the offense be able to finish the game out for a minute,” Robinson continued. “That’s usually your dream scenario with the lead, I should say. But defense stepped up a lot, had a lot of third and fourth down stops that were pretty critical in that game. So a lot of good stuff to build off of, for sure.”
What Dallas Cowboys Did With The Ball
Pre-snap mistakes changed down-and-distance repeatedly and wiped out several plays outright. Dallas still converted 11 of 15 third downs and scored on 1 of its 2 trips inside the Seattle 20.
Brandon Aubrey made a 29-yard field goal to end a 16-play, 8:43 possession that started at the Dallas 16. Undrafted rookie Camden Brown caught touchdowns of 39 and 2 yards.
Dallas returns to Oxnard, California, with open practices scheduled through Aug. 18. The Cowboys play at the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 22, with kickoff set for 9 p.m. CT.
