ALL HAIL BLEERGH.
In tribute to Bleergh (the God of Penalties), here’s the week fifteen’s best and worst penalties. Here’s a random breakdown of this weeks penalties. I may or may not try to find the tape for these, nor am I making any judgement call on the individual penalties. I’m sure that there are plays that should have been called and were not, and other plays where the penalty wasn’t needed, depending on your fandom. This is mainly me looking a some numbers and publishing my findings, so let me know if there’s something you would like to see added or removed to the list.
Here are the bestest (in the eyes of Bleergh) penalties of the week:
| Team | Penalty | Result |
| PHI | ILLEGAL FORMATION | TD nullified |
| BAL | OFFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE | TD nullified |
| JAX | RUNNING INTO THE KICKER | Missed FG nullified |
| CAR | DEFENSIVE OFFSIDE | Fumble reversed |
| DAL | DEFENSIVE OFFSIDE | Fumble reversed |
| TB | DEFENSIVE OFFSIDE | Pickerception reversed |
| KC | DEFENSIVE HOLDING | Pickerception reversed |
| LA | DEFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE | Pickerception reversed |
These plays have multiple flags. This pleases Bleergh.
| Offence | Defence | Description |
| BAL | NYJ | (14:06) (SHOTGUN) 21-M.INGRAM II RIGHT GUARD TO BAL 11 FOR 8 YARDS (20-M.MAYE). PENALTY ON NYJ-48-J.JENKINS, UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS, 15 YARDS, ENFORCED AT BAL 11. PENALTY ON NYJ-48-J.JENKINS, DEFENSIVE OFFSIDE, DECLINED. |
| KC | DEN | (2:36) (SHOTGUN) 15-P.MAHOMES SCRAMBLES RIGHT END RAN OB AT DEN 37 FOR 20 YARDS. PENALTY ON DEN-25-C.HARRIS, ILLEGAL USE OF HANDS, OFFSETTING, ENFORCED AT KC 43 – NO PLAY. PENALTY ON KC-17-M.HARDMAN, ILLEGAL SHIFT, OFFSETTING. |
| NE | CIN | (5:50) (SHOTGUN) 12-T.BRADY PASS SHORT MIDDLE TO 14-M.SANU SR. TO CIN 23 FOR 15 YARDS (30-J.BATES III). FUMBLES (30-J.BATES III), RECOVERED BY CIN-23-B.WEBB AT CIN 23. 23-B.WEBB TO CIN 48 FOR 25 YARDS (15-N.HARRY). PENALTY ON CIN-99-A.BILLINGS, ILLEGAL BLINDSIDE BLOCK, DECLINED. PENALTY ON CIN-23-B.WEBB, DEFENSIVE HOLDING, DECLINED. PENALTY ON CIN-58-C.LAWSON, ILLEGAL USE OF HANDS, 5 YARDS, ENFORCED AT CIN 38 – NO PLAY. |
| DAL | LA | (5:07) (SHOTGUN) 4-D.PRESCOTT PASS SHORT LEFT INTENDED FOR 10-T.AUSTIN INTERCEPTED BY 31-D.WILLIAMS [50-S.EBUKAM] AT DAL 46. 31-D.WILLIAMS RAN OB AT DAL 46 FOR NO GAIN. PENALTY ON LA-31-D.WILLIAMS, DEFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE, OFFSETTING, ENFORCED AT DAL 34 – NO PLAY. PENALTY ON DAL-71-L.COLLINS, OFFENSIVE HOLDING, OFFSETTING. |
Here are the worst (in the eyes of Bleergh) penalties of the week.
| Team | Penalty | Result |
| NYJ | DEFENSIVE TOO MANY MEN ON FIELD | 1 yard |
| MIA | OFFENSIVE HOLDING | 2 yards |
| MIA | FALSE START | 1 yard |
| DAL | DEFENSIVE OFFSIDE | 1 yard |
| LA | ILLEGAL USE OF HANDS | 4 yards |
| IND | FALSE START | 4 yards |
Here are the Best (in the eyes of Bleergh) penalties of the week.
| Team | Penalty | Result |
| NYJ | DEFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE | 43 yards |
| DEN | DEFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE | 22 yards |
| MIA | DEFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE | 24 yards |
| CLE | DEFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE | 21 yards |
| OAK | DEFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE | 21 yards |
| JAX | DEFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE | 33 yards |
| SF | DEFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE | 32 yards |
It (finally) occurred to me that I should try to show the penalties to the offence that a big gain is wiped out. So, here’s the first attempt at that.
| Team | Penalty | Penalty yards | Play gained (yards) | Total lost |
| NYJ | ILLEGAL BLINDSIDE BLOCK | 15 | 19 | 34 |
| NE | FALSE START | 5 | 36 | 41 |
| BAL | OFFENSIVE HOLDING | 10 | 19 | 29 |
| KC | ILLEGAL BLINDSIDE BLOCK | 15 | 39 | 54 |
| NYG | OFFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE | 10 | 24 | 34 |
| JAX | ILLEGAL BLOCK ABOVE THE WAIST | 10 | 26 | 36 |
And here’s the total number of penalties per team this weekend.
| Team | Penalties against | Penalties declined | Penalty yards | Ave yards per penalty | YTD penalties | YTD penalty yards | YTD Ave yards per penalty | Challenges | Challenges Reversed |
| ARIZONA | 7 | 2 | 34 | 6.80 | 119 | 817 | 6.87 | 1 | 1 |
| ATLANTA | 11 | 0 | 98 | 8.91 | 115 | 809 | 7.03 | 1 | 0 |
| BALTIMORE | 6 | 0 | 35 | 5.83 | 109 | 766 | 7.03 | 0 | 0 |
| BUFFALO | 9 | 1 | 70 | 8.75 | 120 | 822 | 6.85 | 0 | 0 |
| CAROLINA | 3 | 1 | 15 | 7.50 | 96 | 638 | 6.65 | 0 | 0 |
| CHICAGO | 4 | 0 | 35 | 8.75 | 110 | 752 | 6.84 | 1 | 0 |
| CINCINNATI | 5 | 1 | 20 | 5.00 | 89 | 639 | 7.18 | 0 | 0 |
| CLEVELAND | 6 | 0 | 55 | 9.17 | 132 | 923 | 6.99 | 0 | 0 |
| DALLAS | 4 | 0 | 16 | 4.00 | 107 | 872 | 8.15 | 0 | 0 |
| DENVER | 8 | 0 | 72 | 9.00 | 115 | 801 | 6.97 | 2 | 0 |
| DETROIT | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5.00 | 124 | 798 | 6.44 | 0 | 0 |
| GREEN BAY | 5 | 1 | 30 | 7.50 | 98 | 629 | 6.42 | 0 | 0 |
| HOUSTON | 6 | 1 | 27 | 5.40 | 119 | 797 | 6.70 | 0 | 0 |
| INDIANAPOLIS | 7 | 0 | 49 | 7.00 | 93 | 624 | 6.71 | 0 | 0 |
| JACKSONVILLE | 8 | 0 | 87 | 10.88 | 139 | 1082 | 7.78 | 0 | 0 |
| KANSAS CITY | 5 | 0 | 45 | 9.00 | 112 | 857 | 7.65 | 0 | 0 |
| LOS ANGELES RAMS | 7 | 1 | 29 | 4.83 | 116 | 731 | 6.30 | 1 | 0 |
| LOS ANGELES CHARGERS | 5 | 0 | 48 | 9.60 | 106 | 777 | 7.33 | 0 | 0 |
| MIAMI | 11 | 4 | 42 | 6.00 | 108 | 659 | 6.10 | 0 | 0 |
| MINNESOTA | 5 | 0 | 41 | 8.20 | 110 | 794 | 7.22 | 0 | 0 |
| NEW ENGLAND | 5 | 1 | 30 | 7.50 | 94 | 744 | 7.91 | 0 | 0 |
| NEW ORLEANS | 7 | 1 | 52 | 8.67 | 128 | 903 | 7.05 | 0 | 0 |
| NEW YORK GIANTS | 4 | 0 | 32 | 8.00 | 95 | 678 | 7.14 | 0 | 0 |
| NEW YORK JETS | 8 | 1 | 79 | 11.29 | 122 | 1047 | 8.58 | 1 | 0 |
| OAKLAND | 6 | 0 | 51 | 8.50 | 124 | 909 | 7.33 | 0 | 0 |
| PHILADELPHIA | 8 | 1 | 54 | 7.71 | 100 | 696 | 6.96 | 0 | 0 |
| PITTSBURGH | 7 | 1 | 30 | 5.00 | 113 | 797 | 7.05 | 0 | 0 |
| SAN FRANCISCO | 8 | 1 | 67 | 9.57 | 101 | 846 | 8.38 | 1 | 0 |
| SEATTLE | 7 | 2 | 40 | 8.00 | 109 | 775 | 7.11 | 1 | 0 |
| TAMPA BAY | 10 | 1 | 70 | 7.78 | 132 | 901 | 6.83 | 1 | 0 |
| TENNESSEE | 7 | 3 | 30 | 7.50 | 98 | 748 | 7.63 | 0 | 0 |
| WASHINGTON | 7 | 2 | 60 | 12.00 | 114 | 749 | 6.57 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 208 | 26 | 1453 | 7.98 | 3567 | 25380 | 7.12 | 11 | 1 |
Penalties by type
| Name | Number called | Percentage | YTD | YTD Percentage |
| CHOP BLOCK | 0 | 0.00% | 10 | 0.28% |
| CLIPPING | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.03% |
| DEFENSIVE DELAY OF GAME | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | 0.06% |
| DEFENSIVE HOLDING | 19 | 9.18% | 289 | 8.11% |
| DEFENSIVE OFFSIDE | 15 | 7.25% | 185 | 5.19% |
| DEFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE | 17 | 8.21% | 265 | 7.43% |
| DEFENSIVE TOO MANY MEN ON FIELD | 3 | 1.45% | 35 | 0.98% |
| DELAY OF GAME | 16 | 7.73% | 116 | 3.25% |
| DELAY OF KICKOFF | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.03% |
| DISQUALIFICATION | 0 | 0.00% | 11 | 0.31% |
| ENCROACHMENT | 3 | 1.45% | 30 | 0.84% |
| FACE MASK (15 YARDS) | 5 | 2.42% | 70 | 1.96% |
| FAIR CATCH INTERFERENCE | 0 | 0.00% | 6 | 0.17% |
| FALSE START | 32 | 15.46% | 490 | 13.74% |
| HORSE COLLAR TACKLE | 0 | 0.00% | 13 | 0.36% |
| ILLEGAL BAT | 0 | 0.00% | 3 | 0.08% |
| ILLEGAL BLINDSIDE BLOCK | 4 | 1.93% | 31 | 0.87% |
| ILLEGAL BLOCK ABOVE THE WAIST | 11 | 5.31% | 151 | 4.24% |
| ILLEGAL CONTACT | 5 | 2.42% | 48 | 1.35% |
| ILLEGAL CRACKBACK | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | 0.06% |
| ILLEGAL DOUBLE-TEAM BLOCK | 0 | 0.00% | 15 | 0.42% |
| ILLEGAL FORMATION | 5 | 2.42% | 84 | 2.36% |
| ILLEGAL FORWARD PASS | 0 | 0.00% | 7 | 0.20% |
| ILLEGAL MOTION | 1 | 0.48% | 12 | 0.34% |
| ILLEGAL SHIFT | 1 | 0.48% | 62 | 1.74% |
| ILLEGAL SUBSTITUTION | 0 | 0.00% | 5 | 0.14% |
| ILLEGAL TOUCH KICK | 0 | 0.00% | 9 | 0.25% |
| ILLEGAL TOUCH PASS | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.03% |
| ILLEGAL USE OF HANDS | 5 | 2.42% | 121 | 3.39% |
| INELIGIBLE DOWNFIELD KICK | 1 | 0.48% | 2 | 0.06% |
| INELIGIBLE DOWNFIELD PASS | 2 | 0.97% | 45 | 1.26% |
| INTENTIONAL GROUNDING | 2 | 0.97% | 28 | 0.79% |
| INVALID FAIR CATCH SIGNAL | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.03% |
| LOW BLOCK | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.03% |
| KICK CATCH INTERFERENCE | 1 | 0.48% | 6 | 0.17% |
| LOWERING THE HEAD TO INITIATE CONTACT | 0 | 0.00% | 26 | 0.73% |
| NEUTRAL ZONE INFRACTION | 6 | 2.90% | 135 | 3.79% |
| OFFENSIVE HOLDING | 37 | 17.87% | 785 | 22.02% |
| OFFENSIVE PASS INTERFERENCE | 3 | 1.45% | 114 | 3.20% |
| OFFENSIVE TOO MANY MEN ON FIELD | 0 | 0.00% | 12 | 0.34% |
| OFFSIDE ON FREE KICK | 0 | 0.00% | 10 | 0.28% |
| PLAYER OUT OF BOUNDS ON KICK | 0 | 0.00% | 5 | 0.14% |
| ROUGHING THE KICKER | 0 | 0.00% | 8 | 0.22% |
| ROUGHING THE PASSER | 8 | 3.86% | 121 | 3.39% |
| RUNNING INTO THE KICKER | 1 | 0.48% | 12 | 0.34% |
| TAUNTING | 0 | 0.00% | 8 | 0.22% |
| TRIPPING | 0 | 0.00% | 7 | 0.20% |
| UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS | 4 | 1.93% | 137 | 3.84% |
| UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT | 0 | 0.00% | 27 | 0.76% |
| 208 | 100.00% | 3565 | 100.00% |
*note that the zeros are penalties called from previous weeks but still in the list. Way too lazy to remove them and it ups my word count. Ha.
Offensive holding with over 17% of the total penalties called this week, up from last week of 16%.
Total number of penalties are down from 214 last week to 208 ( out of 2797 total plays) this week with no teams on bye.
ALL HAIL BLEERGH.
Thanks to http://nflsavant.com for the raw play by play data.
Calling such a BLEERGH against Mahomes-y in the snow just seems mean. But who am I to question our Lord and Saviour?