FRISCO, Texas (AP) — DeMarvion Overshown said he didn't know inactive players in street clothes couldn't run on the field to celebrate before committing the 14th and final penalty by the Dallas Cowboys last weekend.
Whether the linebacker nursing hamstring and back injuries should have known — and whether it's emblematic of a discipline problem under Brian Schottenheimer and his staff — went unanswered by the second-year coach.
The Cowboys got a game-winning
drive from Dak Prescott to beat the Indianapolis Colts 27-23 despite all kinds of mistakes, but the reality is Dallas (4-5) is either finding ways to lose, or making things much harder than necessary with rampant miscues, heading into a meeting with NFC-leading San Francisco (7-1) on Sunday.
The image of Overshown chasing down his celebrating defensive teammates after a fumble recovery was startling. Then there was referee Clay Martin's explanation of the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty: “We had a nonuniformed player in blue sweats and a stocking cap come onto the field to celebrate.”
The Cowboys lost 15 yards of field position when trying to protect a three-point lead in the fourth quarter, and ended up with 153 yards in penalties, leaving them with an NFL-leading 667 for the season.
“I feel like that's what made it worse,” Overshown said Thursday. “We already had 13, 14 penalties, then getting one from a guy that's not even playing, it's like, ‘What are we doing?’ I wouldn't say that's part of an undisciplined team. That's just me not being aware of what's going on. That's not an indictment on (Schottenheimer) or the team.”
A visibly angry Prescott wasn't even aware of what the penalty was, or that players not in uniform couldn't go on the field. He had just seen the flag — and had seen enough. He screamed at the players around him.
“I’m just mad that was another penalty thrown,” Prescott said. “I’m never going to ask players to take away their energy or to compress their excitement. But, plan to make those turnovers, have some celebrations, but act like we’ve been there before. And I think at that moment what I said was heard.”
Before Overshown’s penalty, CeeDee Lamb had erased two first-down catches by pushing off for offensive pass interference. The star receiver had a heads-up play when he got popped up and ran when a defender failed to touch him down — then lost a fumble when his hand hit the ground as he was tackled 25 yards later.
Defensive penalties were the issue in most of the first eight games. But in the ninth game, the offense drew the first seven flags, three of them for holding.
“We can't have as many penalties as we did this past game, on offense, defense, all the way across the board,” Prescott said. “We've got to clean it up. Simple as that.”
After agreeing that the Cowboys were undisciplined against the Colts, Schottenheimer was asked whether the issue was more on players or coaches. “All of us,” the coach said curtly.
Schottenheimer wasn't much more forthcoming when asked Friday about Overshown saying he was unaware that he couldn't run on the field. Overshown veered back toward the sideline because he said he heard fellow linebacker Dee Winters yell that he couldn't be out there. Then Overshown got an earful from a staff member.
“I think we try to educate our guys on all kinds of rules and things like that,” Schottenheimer said. “When he and I talked, I was very clear. He received the message. He understands the seriousness of it. At the end of the day, gotta put the team first, and he knows that.”
Overshown, who switched numbers from 13 to 0 last year to spotlight his Agent 0 Ranch, was quick to recognize the business opportunity coming out of Martin's “blue sweats and a stocking cap” explanation.
The fourth-year pro was equally quick to put that thought to rest.
“I was like, ‘I’m going to let this die down,'” the former Texas Longhorn said. “Because a lot of people in the fan base is not taking it as a joke, which it's not.”
Overshown, who has been limited to 22 of a possible 60 games because of injuries, is expecting to return against the 49ers. He injured his hamstring in the opener, missed five games and played in two before the latest absence.
“I apologized right after the game. Like right in the moment, I apologized,” Overshown said. “It was just one of those, I didn't know until I knew. It can't happen again. It won't happen again. And I'm gonna stay passionate about my teammates making plays."
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