We read the official description of every play since 1999 in nflverse's play-by-play data and counted each flag: accepted, declined, offsetting or superseded by another foul. Regular-season games and final scores come from the nflverse games file, 6,964 games from 1999 to 2025. Figures are per game with both teams together unless they say per team.
NFL penalties per game by season since 1999
The range is narrow. Every full season since 1999 has landed between 11.2 accepted penalties a game, in 2022, and 14.5, in 2005. The high came in a two-year burst, 13.9 in 2004 and 14.5 in 2005, before a drop to 11.9 in 2006. From 2014 to 2019 the rate stayed near 13.5, and penalty yards peaked at 117.6 a game in 2015; 2008, at 89.1, had the fewest.
The last two full seasons went back up, from 11.4 in 2023 to 12.9 in 2024 and 12.7 in 2025. A small part of that is new: under the dynamic kickoff, a kick short of the landing zone is treated like one out of bounds, and those two fouls added 36 penalties in 2024 and 81 in 2025.
Declined and offsetting flags come on top. Since 1999 a game has averaged 1.7 declined penalties and 0.5 offsetting ones; in 2025 there were 519 declined and 147 offsetting. The playoffs are calmer, at 10.5 accepted penalties a game in 309 postseason games.
| Season | Accepted penalties | Per game | Yards per game | Declined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 3,240 | 13.1 | 108.6 | 497 |
| 2000 | 3,119 | 12.7 | 105.3 | 442 |
| 2001 | 2,877 | 11.6 | 98.1 | 376 |
| 2002 | 3,328 | 13.0 | 107.9 | 498 |
| 2003 | 3,379 | 13.2 | 109.4 | 458 |
| 2004 | 3,571 | 13.9 | 114.1 | 574 |
| 2005 | 3,720 | 14.5 | 116.4 | 490 |
| 2006 | 3,046 | 11.9 | 98.3 | 350 |
| 2007 | 2,932 | 11.5 | 89.9 | 362 |
| 2008 | 2,870 | 11.2 | 89.1 | 368 |
| 2009 | 3,030 | 11.8 | 97.4 | 389 |
| 2010 | 3,097 | 12.1 | 101.7 | 360 |
| 2011 | 3,275 | 12.8 | 107.9 | 411 |
| 2012 | 3,213 | 12.6 | 106.3 | 381 |
| 2013 | 3,135 | 12.2 | 105.6 | 340 |
| 2014 | 3,386 | 13.2 | 110.9 | 507 |
| 2015 | 3,545 | 13.8 | 117.6 | 480 |
| 2016 | 3,447 | 13.5 | 116.0 | 459 |
| 2017 | 3,420 | 13.4 | 115.5 | 481 |
| 2018 | 3,445 | 13.5 | 115.0 | 457 |
| 2019 | 3,451 | 13.5 | 114.5 | 528 |
| 2020 | 2,876 | 11.2 | 97.3 | 380 |
| 2021 | 3,217 | 11.8 | 102.0 | 415 |
| 2022 | 3,032 | 11.2 | 92.2 | 434 |
| 2023 | 3,107 | 11.4 | 94.2 | 461 |
| 2024 | 3,506 | 12.9 | 104.5 | 461 |
| 2025 | 3,466 | 12.7 | 102.5 | 519 |
| 2026 (Weeks 1-5) | 1,191 | 15.1 | 120.4 | 130 |
The most common NFL penalties
Two fouls dominate. Offensive holding and false starts made up 38 percent of all accepted penalties in 2025, and from 1999 to 2025 false starts led with 17,237 against 16,493 for holding. Since 2012, though, holding has been the more common call every season except 2020 and 2023.
Comparing 1999-2003 with 2021-2025:
- False starts fell from 2.74 a game to 2.28.
- Offensive holding barely moved, from 2.45 to 2.33.
- Defensive pass interference rose from 0.95 to 1.01 and peaked in 2020 at 308 calls, 1.20 a game.
- Defensive holding went from 0.54 to 0.66 a game and delay of game from 0.50 to 0.60.
- Pre-snap defensive fouls, offside, encroachment and neutral zone infraction together, fell from 1.4 a game to 1.0.
Rule changes and officiating emphasis in the numbers
When the league tells officials to watch for something, the count usually jumps for a season or two.
- Illegal contact, 2004. After the competition committee made the five-yard contact rule a point of emphasis, calls went from 49 in 2003 to 123 in 2004, the most of any season since 1999, and 112 in 2005; defensive holding rose from 167 to 197 over the same two years. Illegal contact fell to 26 in 2021 and was back at 95 in 2025.
- Roughing the passer, 2018. Landing on the quarterback with the body weight was the new emphasis, and in the first five weeks roughing calls rose from 0.38 a game in 2017 to 0.62. The competition committee kept the emphasis but clarified the techniques in September, and the full season ended at 114, against 106 in 2017. The most since 1999 is 149, in 2021; 2025 had 92.
- Taunting, 2021. The league made player-to-player taunting a point of emphasis at the request of the players' union and NCAA coaches. Taunting penalties went from 10 in 2020 to 43 in 2021, the most of any season in the data, and were 25 in 2025.
Home vs road penalties in the NFL
Visiting teams draw more flags. From 1999 to 2025, at the home team's own stadium, road teams were called for 6.48 accepted penalties a game and home teams for 6.11, 6 percent more, and gave up 54.0 penalty yards a game against 50.9. Only in 2008 and 2010 were home teams penalized more often.
The gap has not shrunk with home-field advantage. Home teams won 57.5 percent of games from 1999 to 2018 and 53.2 percent since, but the penalty gap was 0.38 a game before 2019 and 0.36 since. In 2020, with few or no fans, road teams still drew 5.81 penalties a game and home teams 5.45.
Visitors were flagged for delay of game 34 percent more often than home teams and for defensive pass interference 16 percent more, but for false starts only 5 percent more. Offensive holding goes the other way: 8,373 calls on home teams, 7,964 on visitors.
Most and least penalized NFL teams in 2025
The Dallas Cowboys were the most penalized team of 2025 with 133 accepted penalties, ahead of the Tennessee Titans with 130. The Denver Broncos had the most penalty yards, 1,149, and still went 14-3. The Los Angeles Rams were the least penalized, 75 flags for 573 yards, and went 12-5.
| Team | Penalties | Penalty yards | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 133 | 1,136 | 7-9-1 |
| Tennessee Titans | 130 | 1,011 | 3-14 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 128 | 1,080 | 13-4 |
| New York Giants | 128 | 1,075 | 4-13 |
| Denver Broncos | 124 | 1,149 | 14-3 |
| Carolina Panthers | 95 | 762 | 8-9 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 95 | 737 | 8-9 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 88 | 633 | 6-11 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 83 | 651 | 12-5 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 75 | 573 | 12-5 |
From 2021 to 2025, too, the Cowboys drew the most penalties, 607, and the Rams the fewest, 407. The single most penalized team season since 1999 belongs to the 2011 Oakland Raiders, 156; the least, to the 2012 Atlanta Falcons, 55.
Do penalties cost NFL teams games?
A little. In the 6,171 games from 1999 to 2025 in which one team drew more accepted penalties than the other, that team won 44.4 percent of the time. With a margin of three or more flags it won 42.5 percent. Compare that with turnovers: the team that wins the turnover battle wins 79 percent of the time.
Over a season the link is weak too. The least penalized quarter of all 861 team seasons since 1999, relative to the league that year, won 53.4 percent of their games; the most penalized quarter won 47.1 percent. The correlation between penalties per game and winning percentage is minus 0.14. The most penalized team had a winning record in 8 of the 27 seasons and a losing one in 13; the least penalized team, 18 and 8.
None of this proves that flags cause losses; the two go together, and not strongly. The 2025 Broncos, New England Patriots (99 penalties) and Seattle Seahawks (100) all went 14-3.
NFL penalties in 2026 so far
Through Week 5, which ended with the Monday night game on Oct. 12, officials have accepted 1,191 penalties in 79 games, 15.08 a game, for 120.4 yards a game. Through Week 4 the count was 963, the same total ESPN reported as the most through four weeks since 1978, when its play-by-play data begins. Per game, the first five weeks of 2005 (15.85), 2019 (15.23) and 2015 (15.12) ran slightly higher; seasons now have more games in those weeks.
Early weeks usually run hot: in 25 of the 27 seasons from 1999 to 2025 the first five weeks had more penalties per game than the full season, and 2025 went from 14.64 after Week 5 to 12.74 at the end. What stands out in 2026 is the offense. Teams with the ball have drawn 9.10 penalties a game, against 8.38 in the first five weeks of 2025 and second only to 2005 since 1999, while defenses are at 5.97, down from 6.26.
- Offensive holding: 260 calls, 3.29 a game, against 3.10 at the same point of 2025; only 2019 was higher after five weeks, at 3.50.
- False starts: 222, 2.81 a game, up from 2.45.
- Delay of game: 80, 1.01 a game, the highest rate after five weeks of any season since 1999.
By team, the Cleveland Browns have drawn the most flags, 49 in five games, ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers and the New York Jets with 47 and the Green Bay Packers with 46. The San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts have the fewest, 25 each, followed by the Minnesota Vikings and the Tennessee Titans with 30. The 49ers and Vikings are 5-0 and the Kansas City Chiefs, off in Week 5, are 4-0; the Titans and the Chargers are among three teams without a win. Week 6 starts on Thursday, Oct. 15: the NFL schedule has every result so far, and the Vertize NFL simulator lets you play out the rest of the season.
NFL penalties: frequently asked questions
How many penalties are there in an average NFL game? About 12.6 accepted penalties, both teams combined, from 1999 to 2025, for about 105 yards, plus 1.7 declined flags.
What is the most common penalty in the NFL? Offensive holding and false starts, far ahead of everything else, with 2.47 and 2.42 calls a game in 2025. Defensive pass interference is third, at about one a game.
Which NFL team was the most penalized in 2025? The Dallas Cowboys, with 133 accepted penalties in 17 games; the Los Angeles Rams were the least penalized, with 75.
Are there more penalties in 2026? So far, yes: 15.1 a game through Week 5 against 14.6 at the same stage of 2025. Penalty rates have dropped after the first five weeks in almost every season since 1999.
How this was built: every accepted, declined, offsetting and superseded penalty in the NFL regular season and playoffs from 1999 to 2026, read from the official play descriptions in the nflverse play-by-play, with game types, scores and finished games from the nflverse games file. Accepted penalties are counted one by one; yards are those stated for each accepted foul. Three games of 1999 and 2000 have no play-by-play. Our season totals match nflverse's team statistics in 17 of 27 seasons and are never more than 14 penalties apart. When replay reversed a play, only the play that stood counts. The 2026 figures cover the 79 games of Weeks 1 to 5, through Oct. 12, 2026.