Dallas Has Struggled With Late Penalties

Turnovers did much to spur on the two epic collapses we’ve seen out of the Dallas Cowboys this season, but they’re not the only culprit when it comes to the team's late game struggles. Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News brings us an interesting post today concerning penalties, particularly penalties late in the game.

The Cowboys have actually improved a good deal where penalties are concerned, from last season to this season, but ten of their 28 penalties on the year have occurred in the final frame of the game--and five of these within the game’s final 5:30.

Cornerback Alan Ball and left tackle Doug Free are tied for the team lead in penalties with three each, but two of Ball’s penalties have come in the fourth quarter.

There’s no way we could make the argument that these late penalties have directly hurt Dallas’s chances late in games as much as the turnovers--but they surely don’t help. And at 2-2 and coming into a road match-up with the New England Patriots, Dallas would do well to clean this area up a bit.

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