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Let’s face it, in the eyes of NFL coaches, players and fans, one penalty is too much (if its against their own team, of course).
But there has been a narrative that NFL officials have been yellow flag happy in the first two weeks of the season. However, as my good friend and longtime colleague Kevin Seifert of ESPN points out, that storyline is not necessarily true in the big picture.
Have seen discussion about uptick in penalties in Weeks 1-2. It’s true: There have been nearly 100 more flags in that span compared to 2020. But 2020 numbers were low. Weeks 1-2 flag totals in 2021 are lower than 2019, 2015, 2005, 2003, 2014, 2004, 2018, 2017 and 2016.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) September 22, 2021
The real story IMO is the recent whiplash:
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) September 22, 2021
Weeks 1-2 2018: 536 flags
Weeks 1-2 2019: 623 flags
Weeks 1-2 2020: 431 flags
Weeks 1-2 2021: 507 flags
It seems like the 2020 season was the outlier in terms of recent penalty trends. Your Las Vegas Raiders have been penalized 15 times in two games, according to The Football Database. That puts the Raiders in the top 12 most penalized teams so far. The Philadelphia Eagles lead the league with 22 flags.
In 2020, the Raiders were penalized 98 times, which was tied for the eight most in the league. In 2019, the Raiders were penalized a whopping 128 times, which was third in the NFL and in 2018, Jon Gruden’s first season back, the Raiders were penalized 110 times, which was the 18th most in the NFL.
The Raiders are currently on pace for 127 penalties in the new 17-game format.
Other Raiders’ links:
- Mail time: The Athletic has a Raiders’ mailbag.
- Calm, cool Carlson: Raiders’ ace kicker Daniel Carlson explains how he stays within himself in the clutch.
- Rookie mic’d up: Stud fifth-round pic, cornerback Nate Hobbs was mic’d up for the Pittsburgh win. Check it out on the Raiders’ website. It’s good stuff.
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