For the third time this season, James was flagged for unnecessary roughness after connecting with Dallas tight end Jake Ferguson in the head/neck area.
The play came in the final minute of the second quarter and helped lead to a 32-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey, giving the Cowboys a 10-7 halftime edge.
Earlier in the quarter, James was called for roughing the passer for a hit on Dak Prescott.
“What I know is that we can’t have 30 yards — two defensive penalties — like that because it’s worth a lot of yardage and it keeps drives alive,” coach Brandon Staley said. “We have to keep educating, which we do, and we have to make sure that we’re penalty free because there’s a lot at stake when you make penalties like that.”
The Chargers were flagged nine times for 79 yards in a game that was sloppy, rules-wise. Dallas was penalized 11 times for 85 yards.
“We’ve definitely got to be more disciplined,” Chargers defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day said. “We’ve got to try to negate those things. They did hurt us today.”
Other takeaways from the loss: