I posted the factoid, pointing out that penalties tend to go way down in the playoffs. In the last three years, there's been an average of 12.6 penalties in regular-season games, but just 8.8 penalties in playoff games. A couple of readers wrote in to theorize that playoff teams are better than non-playoff teams -- hence the tendency to see fewer flags.
Nice theory, but it doesn't hold up.
NFL teams averaged 97.9 penalties in the regular season.
Of the 12 playoff teams, seven committed an above-average number of penalties.
Penalties in 2013 | |
---|---|
Team | No |
Baltimore | 126 |
Indianapolis | 112 |
Kansas City | 112 |
Dallas | 112 |
Arizona | 111 |
New England | 110 |
Buffalo | 108 |
Philadelphia | 106 |
NY Giants | 105 |
St. Louis | 105 |
Tampa Bay | 105 |
Atlanta | 104 |
Houston | 103 |
San Diego | 100 |
Minnesota | 100 |
Green Bay | 99 |
Seattle | 98 |
Denver | 97 |
San Francisco | 96 |
Cleveland | 95 |
Miami | 95 |
Tennessee | 95 |
NY Jets | 92 |
Pittsburgh | 92 |
New Orleans | 91 |
Detroit | 87 |
Jacksonville | 87 |
Oakland | 87 |
Carolina | 84 |
Washington | 83 |
Cincinnati | 69 |
Chicago | 69 |
--Ian Allan