Week 4 of the 2026 NFL season saw 17 penalties per game.
That was the most in any NFL week since 2015.
Refs sometimes have rules of emphasis coming out of the offseason, so penalties can be erratic in the first week or two.
Seeing this many penalties this far into the season is rare.
The 17 penalties per game were the most we’ve ever seen in a single week after September since 2005.
That’s over TWO DECADES AGO!
We’ve seen the most offensive penalties per game (7.64) in the first four weeks of a season since 2003.
That’s over TWO DECADES AGO!
Offensive holding calls are the highest they have been at this point in a season since 2019.
Offensive EPA lost due to penalties is the highest since 2005.
That’s over TWO DECADES AGO!
Want even MORE historic numbers?
Offenses are getting flagged at the highest per-snap rate of any Week 1 through 4 stretch since 2000: 6.18 per 100 snaps.
We’ve seen the #1 most penalties called on third or fourth down in the second half of games that I have on record since at least 2000.
And it’s the most EPA removed from offenses on these plays that I have on record.
It’s the most offensive penalties in the red zone that I have on record.
Refs are taking good plays and just removing them.
All of the year-over-year increase in penalties is on offense.
Defensive flags are actually down slightly, and defensive pass interference is below average.
These aren’t big-yardage penalties, but they kill drives.
Offensive penalty EPA is the worst since 2009, after a decade in which penalties were a net positive for offenses.
Take out garbage time, and 2026 is the most-penalized offensive season in the data: 3.76 flags per team per game.
Red-zone offensive penalties are at a record: 0.61 per team per game.
That is up 30%, costing a record 4.57 yards per team per game.
More than 56% of red-zone flags are on offense, up from 48%.
On third and fourth down, offenses are flagged on 7.5 of every 100 snaps, tied for the worst rate since 2000.
Red-zone holding is up 38%, second only to 2019.
These penalties are coming in the highest-leverage situations where they would have the most impact on the outcomes of these games:
#1 most penalties on third and fourth downs in the second half of games since 2000
#1 most red zone penalties per game by offenses since at least 2000
#1 highest rate of third and fourth down penalties per snap against offenses since 2000
Jaguars HC Liam Coen went out of his way to say after his Week 4 game that he had “never been a part of anything like that before in my life,” referring to his team being flagged 13 times for 125 yards, with 10 of those (for 100 yards) coming in the first half.
Want to hear one more incredible stat?
Through four weeks, an incredible 17 touchdowns have been nullified by penalty.
Through four weeks in 2025, that number was just 5.
It was only 4 in 2024.
Over the prior decade, the average was only 8.3 touchdowns nullified by penalty.
We’re at a record-high 17 nullified touchdowns, more than double the prior decade’s average.
While NFL fans, and thus the NFL at large since they know where their bread is buttered, want the rules enforced, there comes a point where just because you could call a penalty on every play doesn’t mean that’s what we want to see.
When the replays are shown, we want the penalties to be legitimate.
Don’t penalize things that aren’t notable on replay.
Now, more than ever, the appearance of refs impacting game outcomes is a major concern.
To start the season, the NFL has done nothing but feed that narrative by the way their officials are calling penalties at rates we’ve never seen in history during the most important parts of the game.
Whatever the NFL mandated earlier must be toned down.
They need to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
Not only is it getting out of hand, but if it continues, it could cause serious credibility issues for the NFL very soon.
