The NFL handed out its latest set of fines on Halloween, and two Cowboys players are getting an extra bite taken out of their Week 7 win in Philadelphia.
Rookie defensive tackle LT Overton incurred a $6,013 fine for a blow to the head of Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee early in the second quarter of the Monday night game. It came on a 3rd-and-7 play from inside the Dallas 10. McKee's pass went incomplete, resulting in what looked to be a critical red-zone stop for the Cowboys defense.
A yellow penalty flag changed things. In real time, the contact looked incidental, enough so that Troy Aikman railed against the roughing the passer call from the ESPN booth. Replays then showed that the fourth-round draft pick did, in fact, hook McKee's facemask
with an open hand while attempting to block the throw, causing Aikman to back off on his original complaint.
Even after seeing the replay, though, Monday Night Football rules analyst Russell Yurk chimed in, "To me, that's not something the league usually wants called as a foul."
Penalty-worthy or not, the hit will cost the rookie over six grand. The call cost Dallas in the context of the game, too: awarded a fresh set of downs, the Eagles found the end zone on the next snap and took a 14-10 lead.
Tanner McKee Takes A Hit From LT Overton, And It's Flagged For Roughing The Passer.
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) October 27, 2026
Overton Got His Hand Through The Face Mask On Third Down. Instead Of Fourth Down, It's Now First And Goal.
Costly. 🚩 pic.twitter.com/cOmfNllYUf
Later in the second quarter, Cowboys linebacker Shemar James was involved in a pass breakup alongside rookie Caleb Downs. As a McKee pass was en route to Makai Lemon, Downs grabbed Lemon by the waist and helped prevent a third-down catch. A fraction of a second later, James collided with Lemon as he went to the ground to further disrupt the connection.
Downs was called for defensive pass interference. James's hit went unnoticed by officials in the moment.
Makai Lemon does a good job of attacking Caleb Downs' outside shoulder and then breaking inside. If Downs didn't grab him that would have been an easy 3rd down conversion. pic.twitter.com/XeRPrIkRpa
— Shane Haff (@ShaneHaffNFL) October 27, 2026
But the league has now determined the hit to have been on a defenseless player; James, who was making his debut as the green-dot signal-caller for the Cowboys defense, will see $6,171 taken out of his game check.
Cowboys players have now been fined a total of $96,586 this season.
Also of note in Dallas's 38-21 victory, Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was fined $12,537 for striking Cowboys tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford at the end of a third-quarter Javonte Williams run. That incident was plainly visible during the live broadcast but apparently did not warrant a flag.
BSF moving Jalen Carter off the ball and of course he wanna fight after losing the rep lol pic.twitter.com/GWPJ0RlXuU
— (Foots The King) (@FootsDaKing) October 27, 2026
According to the league, collected fines are donated to the Professional Athletes Foundation to support Legends in need and the NFL Foundation to further support the health, safety and wellness of athletes across all levels, including youth football and the communities that support the game.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys rookie fined after controversial call in Week 7 win over Eagles
