Garrett says Cowboys must cut back on penalties "throughout our football team"

There is a lot to nitpick in the wake of the Dallas Cowboys’ 3-0 victory over the Oakland Raiders in a pre-season opener marked by vanilla play calls and minimal use of marquee players.

But one statistic is worth noting and it bothered coach Jason Garrett: 12 penalties for 91 yards, continuing a disturbing trend from last season. At one point, the Cowboys allowed the Raiders to punt three times on the same drive before taking possession after a touchback on the third punt. Penalties on Jamize Olawale (running into punter) and Teddy Williams (offside) converted fourth downs and prolonged the march.

“They hurt us,” Garrett said of the penalties. “An obvious area where we need to improve, really, throughout our football team.”

_ Jimmy Burch