Referee Clay Martin’s crew had a busy Sunday in Indianapolis, and two of its decisions are now drawing questions well beyond Dallas and Indianapolis. In the fourth quarter of the Cowboys’ 27-23 win over the Colts, the officials let Dallas coach Brian Schottenheimer switch from declining a penalty to accepting it after he saw the Colts send kicker Spencer Shrader onto the field. Minutes earlier, Martin had flagged the Cowboys 15 yards because a player who was not even dressed for the game ran onto the field to celebrate.
Declined, then accepted
With 6:48 left and the score 20-17 in favor of Dallas, Daniel Jones threw incomplete on third down. Colts left tackle Bernhard Raimann was flagged twice on the play, for holding and for illegal formation after officials ruled he was not on the line of scrimmage. Schottenheimer first declined both fouls, which would have left Indianapolis facing fourth down.
Colts coach Shane Steichen sent out Shrader for a 61-yard field goal attempt. Once the field goal unit appeared, Schottenheimer told the officials he wanted to accept the holding penalty instead. The crew allowed it, the Colts were pushed back 10 yards, and third down was replayed as third-and-16.
Steichen said he went straight to the officials. “I actually asked the official about that, because obviously they saw our field goal unit going out,” he said after the game. “I said, ‘Can you do that?’ They said, ‘You can do that.’ So obviously they changed their mind, and that’s what the official told me.”
In the end, the switch did not hurt Indianapolis. Jones hit tight end Tyler Warren for 12 yards on the replayed third down, and Shrader made a 59-yard field goal, matching his career long, to tie the game at 20 with about six minutes left. Dallas went on to win on Javonte Williams’ 1-yard touchdown with 1:08 left. The full game story is in our Cowboys-Colts recap.
What the rulebook says
The sequence touches a rule the league tightened only recently. During the 2024 season, officials had no clear guideline to stop a coach from reconsidering a penalty choice once he saw how the other team lined up, and several coaches took advantage. The officiating website Football Zebras reported that the 2025 rulebook added language that locks in the decision once the penalty has been announced and the ball has been spotted.
There are exceptions. A coach may still change his mind if the crew assumed his choice without asking and he wanted the opposite, if the play is changed by a replay review, a challenge or replay assist, or if the crew decides there was genuine confusion over the options. Whether Sunday’s switch fit one of those exceptions, or came before the decline was final, is the question the Colts were left asking. The league had not publicly explained the ruling as of Monday afternoon in New York.
“Blue sweats and a stocking cap”
The other moment that went viral came with 9:49 left. Quinnen Williams forced a Jonathan Taylor fumble, and linebacker Shemar James returned it 11 yards. As the Cowboys celebrated, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who had been ruled inactive with hamstring and back injuries, ran onto the field in street clothes to join them.
Martin’s announcement described him in detail. “After the play, unsportsmanlike conduct by Dallas,” he said. “An un-uniformed player in blue sweats and a stocking cap came onto the field to celebrate. That’s a 15-yard penalty.”
Ref: “A guy with blue sweatpants and a stocking cap came onto the field to celebrate.” 💀💀💀 pic.x.com/IPQ1wDbqjR
— Chad Fisher (@ChadFisher) November 8, 2026
The flag cost the Cowboys 15 yards of field position. Dallas punted on that possession, and the Colts’ next drive ended in Shrader’s tying kick. Overshown apologized on his Instagram story on Sunday evening: “Was just tryna celebrate with the guys … my bad G.”
Even when the Cowboys do something right – Quinnen Williams forces a fumble – they mess things up. DeMarvion Overshown gets a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct for celebrating on the field.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) November 8, 2026
23 flags for a quiet crew
The two teams combined for 23 penalties. Dallas was flagged 14 times for 153 yards, its most since 2021, and penalties wiped out 103 yards of Cowboys offense. Indianapolis had nine for 67 yards. CeeDee Lamb was called for a false start and two offensive pass interference fouls, both of which erased third-down catches.
Schottenheimer noted that the total was unusual for this crew. “This is a crew that hadn’t called a lot of penalties,” he said. “There were a lot of penalties called, so I want to look at the film before I speak on it.” Dak Prescott took a harder line on his own side, calling the offense’s flags “purely unacceptable.”
What comes next
Sunday’s games now go to the league office for the weekly review of hits and conduct, with Week 9 fines due on Saturday. Unsportsmanlike conduct by a player who is not in the game can draw a fine like any other, and Overshown was already fined $9,528 for use of the helmet in Week 8, as listed in last week’s fines. For another officiating decision from Sunday, see how the replay office upheld Sean Payton’s late challenge in Charlotte.
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