One thing we often hear in professional sports is "don't beat yourself," and by that, we mean don't make mistakes that put your team at a disadvantage.
Well, the Dallas Cowboys didn't listen as their 44-24 beatdown at the hands of the Denver Broncos was the very definition of self-destructing.
A total of nine penalties, most of which were pre-snap on the offensive side of the ball and against a Broncos defense that feasts in long-yardage situations, that's nightmare fuel. Plus, the big plays given up on defense, both on the ground and with Bo Nix slicing a beat-up secondary, it was a bad day for Dallas.
And for head coach Brian Schottenheimer, his biggest takeaway from the game after watching the film was that his team beat itself more than Denver beat them.
“The biggest thing that came out of this game was I was disappointed that we beat ourselves a lot on both sides,” Schottenheimer said. “We beat ourselves with pre-snap penalties. We beat ourselves with mental errors. We beat ourselves with lack of communication on defense in some regards.
"When you play a damn good football team like Denver in a place where they're really good at winning, you can't do that and win in this league.”
More:Brian Schottenheimer confirms 'changes' after Cowboys loss to Broncos
Cowboys have to correct discipline issues
The Cowboys and penalty issues have plagued them for years, and the team under Mike McCarthy was one of the worst in football across multiple seasons.
And it appears that those same issues that plagued Dallas then are still plaguing them under Schottenheimer, and make no mistake about it, the first-time head coach wants it to stop.
The pre-snap penalties killed the Cowboys in Denver, with Vance Joseph's defense the best in the league when it comes to third-down stops (allowing a conversion just 29 percent of the time). With one game to go before the bye week, the Cowboys will not want to head into it on the back of two straight losses.
But that is what is staring Schottenheimer's team in the face, and unless they fix their discipline issues, it will continue to be one of the reasons they struggle to win football games.
Can Schotty fix it?
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