Penalty flags fly fast against Giants, who were set back 160 yards in overtime loss to Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The penalty flags were flying in a hurry against the New York Giants.

Even before backup left tackle James Hudson III was penalized four times in a span of six snaps on the game's opening possession, the Giants had started at their 20 instead of the Dallas 32 after a holding penalty wiped out a 67-yard kickoff return to start Sunday's game.

New York was penalized 14 times for 160 yards in their 40-37 overtime loss to the Cowboys. That was their most penalty yards since 175 against the Boston Yanks on Oct. 19, 1947.

“Yeah, it's hard to win the game when you've got that many penalties for that many yards,” receiver Wan'Dale Robinson said. “But it was still good to see that we were able to put up that many points with that many penalties.”

And those final numbers don't even include four singular penalties that were declined by Dallas, and another play when there were three flags against the Giants defense offset by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb in the end zone.

“We had a number of them, some physical penalties, some offsides,” coach Brian Daboll said. “Far too many.”

Dallas also had a lot, getting penalized 12 times for 106 yards.

The 160 yards for the Giants were the most marked off against any NFL team since the Cowboys had 166 yards in penalties in a Thanksgiving Day game against the Raiders on Nov. 25, 2021.

New York was penalized for the last time with about 9 1/2 minutes remaining in regulation in a game that went the entire 10-minute overtime period before Brandon Aubrey's winning 46-yard field goal.

Aubrey kicked a tying 64-yarder to end regulation after the teams combined for five consecutive go-ahead TDs in the final 12 minutes of the fourth quarter. That included Dak Prescott and Russell Wilson both throwing touchdown passes in the final minute.

On the opening drive Sunday, the Giants gained 110 yards — they finished with 506 — but had to settle for Graham Gano’s 38-yard field goal. They had six penalties for 60 yards that drive alone, including two 15-yarders against Hudson.

The biggest flag on that opening possession was the second unsportsmanlike conduct call of the drive against Hudson on Russell Wilson’s 50-yard pass to Robinson on third-and-24. The flag was after a play that put the Giants at the Dallas 2-yard line, so the penalty pushed them back to the 17.

The second of two false start penalties against Hudson contributing to the drive stalling, which led to Gano’s kick.

Hudson was replaced on the second New York series. He was starting in place of Andrew Thomas, who was inactive with a foot injury. Marcus Mbow, listed as the backup right tackle, replaced Hudson.

“We were moving the ball. ... So he finished it out," Daboll said, when asked if he considered making the switch during the opening drive. “Hudson's a competitor. He's a competitive kid.”

AP Pro Football Writer Schuyler Dixon contributed to this report.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

An official picks up a penalty flag in the first half of an NFL football game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

New York Giants' James Hudson III jogs off the field after a play in the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

An official throws a penalty flag after a play that involved New York Giants' James Hudson III (55) in the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) throws a pass under pressure from Dallas Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams (54) in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.

SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station.

“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander.

It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.

Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who had the health problem or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.

While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.

NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.

The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule being taken into the recovery vessel after crew members re entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Mike Fincke getting helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows Russian astronaut Oleg Platonov being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, left, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON shortly after having landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Long Beach, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Zena Cardman being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This photo provided by NASA shows clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui gathering for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows recovery vessels approaching the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule to evacuate one of the crew members after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)