DeMarvion Overshown apologizes for inactive penalty

Overshown finally talked about it Thursday, and the most surprising part is that he had no idea it was against the rules.

Calvin Watkins

@calvinwatkins

DeMarvion Overshown said he didn’t know it was a rule if you’re not playing you can’t get on the field of play until Dee Winters told him.

Quick recap of the scene. Dallas beat Indianapolis 27-23 on Sunday, November 8. In the 4th quarter Quinnen Williams forced a fumble, and Overshown, who was inactive with hamstring and back injuries, sprinted onto the field in street clothes to celebrate with the defense. Referee Clay Martin threw an unsportsmanlike conduct flag and announced it by describing a guy in a 'blue sweat suit and stocking cap.' That line went viral right away, and so did Overshown.

Calvin Watkins

@calvinwatkins

DeMarvion Overshown on his penalty: “At the end of the day, I talked to Schotty about it. I apologized about it. It was definitely in the moment, but earlier I had said that as a defense, we're going to start celebrating more, getting takeaways. And I was just caught in the moment. So you can laugh at it now because we won the game, but in the moment, fourth quarter tied ball game or close ball game, you don't want a 15 yard penalty from a guy, especially that's not even playing. So that's a lesson learned.”

Give him credit for owning it. He sat down with Schotty, apologized, and called it a lesson learned. He was also right about the timing: a 15-yard penalty on a guy who isn't even playing, late in a close game, is the kind of thing that costs you games. Dallas won, so everybody can laugh about it now. They wouldn't be laughing if it had gone the other way.

Dak Prescott was not laughing on Sunday. TV caught him blowing up on the sideline right after the flag, and when he was asked about it Thursday he didn't try to soften it.

Clarence Hill Jr

@clarencehilljr

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott on going full Troy Aikman on the sideline after the DeMarvion Overshown penalty: “I was pissed. I spoke my mind.”

The bigger problem is the reason Overshown gave. If a 4th-year linebacker honestly didn't know inactive players can't go on the field, and it took Dee Winters yelling at him to find out, that's not only on the player. It's on the staff that is supposed to teach this stuff. Longtime Cowboys writer Clarence Hill Jr. said so directly.

Clarence Hill Jr

@clarencehilljr

If he didn’t know it was a rule then this one of the details that make the coaching staff look bad. A ball was dropped Ignorance is not an excuse

Nick Harris

@NickHarrisFWST

Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown said he apologized to the team and Brian Schottenheimer for his penalty on Sunday. “I really didn’t know the rule until I heard Dee Winters, he yelled, ‘D-Mo, you can’t be out here!’ That’s when I looked back and I already saw the ref pointing. I was just like, I’ll take the butt chewing that I’ll get. It won’t happen again, and I apologized to the team.” On the penalty: “I was just caught in the moment … It’s just a lesson learned. It’s not going to change how passionate I am about my teammates when they make big plays.” “It’s not an indictment on Schotty. It’s on me as a player. I own it.”

That's the argument that sticks. This is a new staff under Schottenheimer, and details like this are what people use to judge whether a program has its act together. Overshown also has bigger things to worry about. Since Dallas took him in the 3rd round of the 2023 draft out of Texas, he has played in only 22 of a possible 60 games, and the hamstring has been an issue again this year. He says that problem is fixed and he's ready to go. The best way to get past the stocking cap jokes is to play well in an actual uniform.