The Dallas Cowboys did not have a sparkling start to the 2022 NFL preseason, as they got dropped by the Denver Broncos on the road last Saturday in a 17-7 loss. It was quite an uncharacteristic performance — especially offensively — for the Cowboys, who were the highest-scoring team in the entire league in the 2021 NFL season. Cowboys head coach McCarthy surely wasn't impressed with Dallas' discipline — or lack thereof– on the field that resulted in a dizzying total of 17 penalties.

Via Rob Phillips of DallasCowboys.com:

Head coach Mike McCarthy isn't ready to draw a link between their penalties in 2021 and the early start to 2022 — the Cowboys did rest the majority of their projected starters and heavy rotation players Saturday, after all — but he acknowledged that the 17 flags for 129 yards Saturday “clearly are way too much.”

Those 17 penalties went for 129 yards against the Cowboys and make the Broncos' eight penalties for 64 yards pale in comparison. Mike McCarthy would definitely have that as a major talking point this week in hopes of seeing much more positive results on that end in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers on the road.

Last season, the Cowboys averaged 0.06 penalties per play and 7.8 penalties per game, both the highest in the league, so it appears that they still have plenty of work in addressing that issue heading into the 2022 NFL season. However, McCarthy was quick to reject the idea that there's a link between Cowboys' penalty problems in 2021 and in the 2022 preseason.

“This is preseason. I don't think this has anything to do with last year. But I didn't like the number of penalties. I made it clear. I talked about it at halftime and I talked about it briefly in there (the locker room). We'll take a long look at it.”

The Cowboys barely played their starters in the Broncos game, but the first-stringers could start to see more action in the coming games, as Dallas prepares for a new season. In 2021, the Cowboys posted a 12-5 record to win the NFC East division title but were not able to score a win in the playoffs. They were sent home early from the postseason by the San Francisco 49ers in a loss in the NFC wild-card round.