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You cannot get penalized if you are not even playing, right? Well, Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown proved that theory wrong on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. Sitting out due to injuries, the 26-year-old was stuck on the sidelines in his blue sweatpants and stocking cap. But when his defense forced a big turnover, his excitement won, and he ran straight onto the field. That little trip cost his team a heavy 15-yard penalty.
“I think Cobie Durant told us that Overshown apologized to the team. Can you talk about that play, and will there be any more discipline, or how are you handling that?” a reporter asked the head coach at the post-game presser.
“Yeah, addressed it uh one-on-one with Demo first, addressed it with the football team. Totally unacceptable, and it won’t happen again,” Schottenheimer replied.
Linebacker penalties from the sidelines are rare, but this is not the first time NFL emotional outbursts cost teams. While Overshown has no history of bench violations, his slip-up mirrors past league incidents where sideline personnel stepped onto the active playing field during major plays, immediately triggering automatic fifteen-yard unsportsmanlike conduct fouls under NFL rules.
While the head coach Schottenheimer took action later on, Overshown was penalized for running on the field because, at the end of the day, he just couldn’t help joining the celebration once the defense forced and recovered a Jonathan Taylor fumble for a big turnover.
He was inactive for Sunday’s NFL game because of hamstring and back injuries. Overshown was caught up in the excitement of the moment after witnessing his teammates make the play. He rushed onto the field to celebrate alongside them, but that enthusiasm quickly turned into a costly mistake. As a non-participant, he had no business being on the field, and the officials penalized the team accordingly.
Meanwhile, Schottenheimer is not the only one from the Cowboys camp who got vocal about Overshown’s actions. Stephen Jones also made his feelings clear.
“It is (unacceptable). … It’s not a good look,” said Dallas’ CEO and co-owner. “It’s not a disciplined look. We certainly didn’t play a disciplined game yesterday with (14) penalties. We have to be better than that.”
Anyhow, Overshown is going through a rough patch. He did not see much gridiron action this season and has been limited to just three games as he deals with injuries.
So, as backlash started to grow, he immediately realized his mistake and dropped an apology on social media.
“Was just tryna celebrate with the guys…my bad G,” Overshown said on his IG story.
Not just this. He went to his teammates and expressed regret for his actions.
“I didn’t realize he was on the field until I was in the end zone and I was right there,” Durant shared. “So I was like, ‘What are you doing out here?’ But the excitement, the joy — it’s all good. We all know you can’t do that. He was just overexcited, and I don’t blame him. But he learned from it and on to the next game. He apologized for it; I mean, that’s it.”