Packers Piling Up the Penalties, But Does It Matter?

The Green Bay Packers rank among the most-penalized teams in the NFL through the first three games. Here’s what history says about the correlation between penalties and winning.

The Green Bay Packers have been flagged 33 times (26 accepted) through three games. / Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Under Matt LaFleur, the Green Bay Packers have been one of the most disciplined teams in the NFL. From 2019 through 2023, his first five seasons as coach, Green Bay was guilty of 447 penalties – sixth-fewest in the NFL.

In fact, the Packers were three penalties and 6 penalty yards from finishing fourth in both categories.

The Packers are on the opposite end of the spectrum this year, and LaFleur isn’t happy about it.

“We’ve got to be better with our technique,” LaFleur said on Monday, a day after the team was found guilty of 10 penalties for 75 yards in a blowout win over the Tennessee Titans. The Packers are fifth in accepted penalties (26) and second in total penalties (33).

“We’ve had some costly penalties that have shown up in every game and it’s going to come back to bite us if we don’t get it cleaned up, and that’s something that we addressed. We address it every day but, certainly, talked about it again today. And we’ve just got to get back to practicing with good fundamentals. I think that’s a big part of it and just being dialed in each and every play.”

What was particularly galling about Sunday’s game is that it wasn’t a game that was over-officiated by Clay Martin’s crew. The Titans were flagged just twice for 15 yards.

During each of LaFleur’s first four seasons, his team never ranked even in the top half of the NFL in penalties. That changed last year, which might have been viewed as a byproduct of a youthful roster had the trend not continued this year.

2019 (16 games): 100 penalties, 23rd-most

2020 (16 games): 84 penalties, tied, 20th-most

2021 (17 games): 69 penalties, 32nd-most (fewest).

2022 (17 games): 89 penalties, 22nd-most

2023 (17 games): 105 penalties, 8th-most

2024 (17-game projection): 147 penalties, 5th-most

While the penalty numbers this year are bad, here’s the secret: There is almost no correlation between penalties and winning. You don’t have to have a bunch of do-good choir boys to win a championship.

From Stathead:

In 2023, the Chiefs beat the 49ers in the Super Bowl. Kansas City had the 18th-most penalties while San Francisco had the 11th-most but sixth-most penalty yards. The Ravens, who were the No. 1 seed in the AFC, had the second-most penalty yards. The Cowboys, who tied San Francisco for the most wins in the NFC, had the second-most penalties and most penalty yards. Of the 10 most-penalized teams, five won double-digits games; of the 10 least-penalized teams, only one won double-digits games.

In 2022, the Eagles beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Kansas City had the seventh-fewest penalties and Philadelphia was tied for the 12th-fewest. Cincinnati, which reached the AFC title game, had the fourth-fewest penalties. Dallas was the only team with 10-plus wins to have 100 penalties.

In 2021, the Rams beat the Bengals in the Super Bowl. This was an outlier game, with Los Angeles guilty of the fourth-fewest penalties and Cincinnati the second-fewest. However, of the nine teams with at least 110 penalties, four had double-digits wins, including San Francisco, which reached the NFC title game. Green Bay was the No. 1 seed in the NFC and had the fewest penalties.

In 2020, the Buccaneers beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. While Tampa Bay was guilty of the 20th-most penalties, the AFC Championship Game teams, Kansas City and Buffalo, had the fourth-most and sixth-most, respectively. Of the seven teams with at least 100 penalties, four won double-digits games, including the Chiefs, who were an NFL-best 14-2.

From 2019 through 2023, the Packers were guilty of the sixth-fewest penalties. During that span, four of the top 10 teams in wins were among the 10 most-penalized teams while only the Packers were among the top 10 in wins and 10 least-penalized teams.

Of the eight teams with the fewest penalties during those five seasons, six had losing records.

To be sure, penalties aren’t desired. There’s obviously no benefit to a false start or roughing-the-passer penalty.

However, there’s probably a sweet spot that the best teams have mastered. Play hard. Play aggressive. Push the envelope, even at risk of a holding penalty.

Speaking of holding: According to NFLPenalties.com, the Packers have been flagged a league-high nine times for holding. Left tackle Rasheed Walker leads the NFL with four, with at least a couple of those coming when he had his man blocked but Josh Jacobs changed direction and Walker grabbed to adjust.

“If your hands are outside the framework, there’s a good chance you’re going to get called,” LaFleur said. “You’ve got to keep your hands tight. We always teach that. And then when you feel a guy trying to peel away from you, you’ve got to let him go.”

Through three games, Green Bay has been penalized 14 more times than its opponents for 104 more yards, the second- and third-largest disparities, according to NFL Penalties. Sunday’s opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, are on the plus side of penalty disparity by five penalties and 67 yards.

The Vikings have benefited from 213 penalty yards by their opponents, fifth-most. The Packers have benefited from 92 penalty yards by their opponents, second-fewest. 

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