Why Cowboys' Trey Lance was fined $22,511 after Eagles game!

Despite only playing 15 snaps during the Dallas Cowboys’ blowout 34-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, quarterback Trey Lance, who isn’t likely to be the team’s starter any time soon, was fined $22,511 by the NFL for unnecessary roughness (use of helmet) on the fumble where he hit safety Reed Blankenship out of bounds, per NFL insider Tom Pelissero.

With Dak Prescott out for the season with a hamstring injury, the Cowboys are leaning on backup Cooper Rush. The 30-year-old signal-caller was a late addition to the team’s injury report this week, although he is expected to play through a neck injury in Week 11 against the Houston Texans.

Cowboys making all the wrong kinds of headlines

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Trey Lance (19) throws a pass against the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium — © Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

In recent years, at this point in the season, Dallas would usually be talking about playoff seeding or fine-tuning adjustments during a relatively successful regular season–not this year. Instead, it has been about installing curtains for the stadium or having head coach Mike McCarthy in the hot seat.

Another example of the wrong headlines is Shannon Sharpe taking Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs to task for their podcast and its drama spilling over into the real world.

“No, I would’ve stayed off social media because I don’t want to hear because everyone has social media and now they’re a GM, they’re a head coach, they’re ex-players, they know more about the game than players know,” Sharpe said. “They know more coverages, more fronts, more formations, no, I would not have wanted any part of that.”

“I wouldn’t have wanted to play in this league because it seems like guys play for attention,” Sharpe continued. “The thing that Trevon Diggs did, the reason he confronted the guy two minutes after walking off the field, so that’s what’s on your mind after a loss.

“After you got carried, the first thing is to go grab my phone and to see what they’re saying on social media? I want no part of that. I wanted to win, and I wanted to have teammates that wanted to win. I’m not so sure the lion’s share of these guys want to win.”

After the Cowboys’ loss, Diggs approached a reporter who criticized him.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones also spent time talking up his former player Jason Witten and his potential future as a coach.

“Without a question, he can become — above high school — he can become a coach,” Jones said. “He has extraordinary work ethic. He absolutely calls on his teammates and would call on his players as a coach. So yeah. He can be a top coach.”

Is Jones setting the stage to talk up Witten as McCarthy’s replacement? Time will tell.

The 3-6 Cowboys host the Texans on Monday Night Football on November 18 at 8:15 p.m. EST.