Penalties · 2019–2026
NFL penalties by team
The Packers lead the NFL in penalties in 2026: 32 in 3 games (after Week 3). Since 2019, the Cowboys have been flagged the most, 812; the Bengals the least, 594.
Accepted penalties in the regular season, as the league counts them, from nflverse play-by-play. By season: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019
2026, after Week 3
| # | Team | Penalties | Per game | Yards | Most flagged for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Packers | 32 | 10.7 | 276 | Offensive Holding (8) |
| 2 |  Jets | 21 | 10.5 | 204 | Offensive Holding (5) |
| 3 |  Panthers | 20 | 10.0 | 147 | False Start (5) |
| 4 |  Bears | 20 | 10.0 | 115 | Offensive Holding (5) |
| 5 |  Bengals | 19 | 9.5 | 125 | False Start (5) |
| 6 |  Lions | 18 | 9.0 | 119 | False Start (4) |
| 7 |  Browns | 17 | 8.5 | 125 | Offensive Holding (6) |
| 8 |  Ravens | 17 | 8.5 | 120 | False Start (4) |
| 9 |  Broncos | 17 | 8.5 | 105 | Offensive Holding (4) |
| 10 |  Texans | 16 | 8.0 | 189 | False Start (5) |
| 11 |  Chiefs | 15 | 7.5 | 146 | Offensive Holding (5) |
| 12 |  Bills | 15 | 7.5 | 131 | Defensive Holding (5) |
| 13 |  Dolphins | 15 | 7.5 | 111 | Offensive Holding (5) |
| 14 |  Chargers | 15 | 7.5 | 109 | False Start (7) |
| 15 |  Falcons | 21 | 7.0 | 218 | Offensive Holding (9) |
| 16 |  Cardinals | 14 | 7.0 | 159 | Defensive Pass Interference (3) |
| 17 |  Cowboys | 14 | 7.0 | 122 | Offensive Holding (3) |
| 18 |  Buccaneers | 14 | 7.0 | 101 | False Start (4) |
| 19 |  Giants | 13 | 6.5 | 134 | False Start (5) |
| 20 |  Seahawks | 13 | 6.5 | 124 | False Start (5) |
| 21 |  Patriots | 13 | 6.5 | 81 | Delay of Game (3) |
| 22 |  Steelers | 12 | 6.0 | 111 | Defensive Holding (2) |
| 23 |  Raiders | 12 | 6.0 | 71 | False Start (4) |
| 24 |  Saints | 11 | 5.5 | 88 | False Start (3) |
| 25 |  Commanders | 11 | 5.5 | 83 | Delay of Game (2) |
| 26 |  Titans | 11 | 5.5 | 70 | False Start (2) |
| 27 |  Rams | 10 | 5.0 | 93 | Offensive Holding (3) |
| 28 |  49ers | 9 | 4.5 | 99 | Offensive Holding (4) |
| 29 |  Eagles | 9 | 4.5 | 75 | Offensive Holding (6) |
| 30 |  Colts | 9 | 4.5 | 59 | Delay of Game (3) |
| 31 |  Jaguars | 7 | 3.5 | 43 | False Start (2) |
| 32 |  Vikings | 6 | 3.0 | 40 | False Start (3) |
Every season since 2019
Accepted penalties per regular season. Sorted by the total over the 7 complete seasons; 2026 is so far.
| Team | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Total | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 109 | 96 | 127 | 104 | 115 | 128 | 133 | 14 | 812 | 6.9 |
| Jets | 115 | 101 | 103 | 91 | 124 | 137 | 110 | 21 | 781 | 6.7 |
| Browns | 122 | 100 | 112 | 102 | 115 | 119 | 108 | 17 | 778 | 6.6 |
| Cardinals | 121 | 112 | 114 | 117 | 101 | 92 | 115 | 14 | 772 | 6.6 |
| Titans | 99 | 86 | 103 | 111 | 110 | 130 | 129 | 11 | 768 | 6.6 |
| Texans | 111 | 80 | 114 | 88 | 114 | 119 | 118 | 16 | 744 | 6.4 |
| Bills | 116 | 102 | 113 | 92 | 106 | 112 | 101 | 15 | 742 | 6.4 |
| Jaguars | 132 | 107 | 104 | 90 | 83 | 99 | 127 | 7 | 742 | 6.3 |
| Raiders | 128 | 97 | 124 | 113 | 75 | 96 | 108 | 12 | 741 | 6.3 |
| Saints | 120 | 98 | 98 | 99 | 96 | 110 | 118 | 11 | 739 | 6.3 |
| Ravens | 109 | 104 | 102 | 82 | 102 | 132 | 99 | 17 | 730 | 6.2 |
| Seahawks | 109 | 84 | 97 | 106 | 110 | 119 | 100 | 13 | 725 | 6.2 |
| Chiefs | 107 | 105 | 110 | 87 | 96 | 94 | 119 | 15 | 718 | 6.1 |
| Eagles | 100 | 107 | 107 | 90 | 94 | 103 | 117 | 9 | 718 | 6.1 |
| Broncos | 110 | 81 | 83 | 113 | 99 | 107 | 123 | 17 | 716 | 6.1 |
| Buccaneers | 133 | 84 | 96 | 99 | 100 | 108 | 95 | 14 | 715 | 6.1 |
| Lions | 113 | 95 | 105 | 90 | 97 | 106 | 104 | 18 | 710 | 6.1 |
| Panthers | 87 | 95 | 107 | 104 | 103 | 118 | 95 | 20 | 709 | 6.1 |
| Bears | 103 | 88 | 106 | 80 | 99 | 110 | 120 | 20 | 706 | 6.0 |
| Dolphins | 92 | 74 | 105 | 111 | 97 | 114 | 101 | 15 | 694 | 5.9 |
| Giants | 90 | 81 | 88 | 106 | 89 | 112 | 128 | 13 | 694 | 5.9 |
| Vikings | 96 | 82 | 111 | 88 | 89 | 110 | 111 | 6 | 687 | 5.9 |
| Steelers | 111 | 81 | 106 | 94 | 86 | 102 | 101 | 12 | 681 | 5.8 |
| 49ers | 105 | 85 | 101 | 94 | 101 | 111 | 83 | 9 | 680 | 5.8 |
| Commanders | 105 | 87 | 82 | 92 | 87 | 109 | 117 | 11 | 679 | 5.8 |
| Chargers | 103 | 85 | 116 | 81 | 79 | 96 | 104 | 15 | 664 | 5.7 |
| Packers | 99 | 84 | 69 | 89 | 104 | 112 | 105 | 32 | 662 | 5.7 |
| Patriots | 94 | 62 | 95 | 104 | 89 | 111 | 99 | 13 | 654 | 5.6 |
| Falcons | 119 | 82 | 92 | 68 | 84 | 99 | 108 | 21 | 652 | 5.6 |
| Colts | 79 | 94 | 75 | 89 | 95 | 92 | 102 | 9 | 626 | 5.4 |
| Rams | 118 | 71 | 76 | 76 | 89 | 91 | 75 | 10 | 596 | 5.1 |
| Bengals | 93 | 83 | 72 | 81 | 76 | 101 | 88 | 19 | 594 | 5.1 |
By year
Accepted penalties and yards per team per game.
| Season | Penalties | Yards |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 7.06 | 57.5 |
| 2025 | 6.36 | 51.1 |
| 2024 | 6.43 | 52.1 |
| 2023 | 5.71 | 47.0 |
| 2022 | 5.59 | 46.1 |
| 2021 | 5.91 | 50.9 |
| 2020 | 5.61 | 48.6 |
| 2019 | 6.73 | 57.2 |
Home and away
Over 1,869 regular-season games since 2019 (not counting neutral sites), home teams were flagged 5.88 times a game for 48.9 yards, visitors 6.24 times for 52.1 yards: 6% more flags on the road. Not from crowd noise: false starts are even (2,075 at home, 2,073 on the road). The gap is delay of game (+133), defensive pass interference (+120) and defensive holding (+97). Is the NFL rigged?
Most penalties in a game since 2019
| # | Team | Game | Penalties | Yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Falcons | @ Buccaneers, 2025 Week 15 Dec 11, 2025 | 19 | 125 |
| 2 | Browns | vs Titans, 2019 Week 1 Sep 8, 2019 | 18 | 182 |
| 3 | Cardinals | vs 49ers, 2025 Week 11 Nov 16, 2025 | 17 | 130 |
| 4 | Falcons | @ Colts, 2019 Week 3 Sep 22, 2019 | 16 | 128 |
| 5 | Jaguars | vs Buccaneers, 2019 Week 13 Dec 1, 2019 | 16 | 121 |
| 6 | Jets | @ Bills, 2024 Week 17 Dec 29, 2024 | 16 | 120 |
| 7 | Cowboys | vs Raiders, 2021 Week 12 Nov 25, 2021 | 14 | 166 |
| 8 | Giants | @ Cowboys, 2025 Week 2 Sep 14, 2025 | 14 | 160 |
| 9 | Jets | vs Commanders, 2023 Week 16 Dec 24, 2023 | 14 | 150 |
| 10 | Packers | @ Jets, 2026 Week 2 Sep 20, 2026 | 14 | 133 |