Hold On – Weeks 1 to 3, 2023
September 29, 2023
By Noonefromtampa
Through week 3 of games, 607 penalties have been enforced in 48 games yielding an average of 6.32 penalties per team per game. Washington had been called for 18 penalties across 3 games for an average of 6.0 penalties per game, which is slightly under the league average. They are tied for 15th most penalties along with Kansas City, Detroit, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Chicago, Miami, and New England.
The top 5 penalized team across the league are:
- Carolina – 28
- Green Bay – 27
- Denver – 26
- Arizona – 25
- Dallas & Seattle – 24
The top 5 penalty calls across the league are:
- False Start, 126 times
- Offensive Holding, 106 times
- Defensive Pass Interference, 58 times
- Defensive Holding, 33 times
- Unnecessary Roughness, 33 times
As of week 3, unnecessary roughness is being called 21% more over the 2022 season when looking at the count per game stat. My assumption is that there is extra focus on player safety early in this season. I will monitor that and see if it falls back in line with last season’s rate.
Week 1 Summary
Arizona – 9 accepted penalties (1 declined) for 122 yards, gave up 4 first downs via penalty
Washington – 8 accepted penalties (1 declined) for 69 yards, gave up 0 first downs via penalty
This is the summary of penalties committed by each team:
By Penalty:
| Penalty | Arizona | Washington | Grand Total |
| Defensive Pass Interference | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Defensive Too Many Men on Field | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Delay of Game | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| False Start | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Block Above the Waist | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Ineligible Downfield Pass | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Lowering the Head to Make Forcible Contact | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Offensive Holding | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Offensive Pass Interference | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Roughing the Passer | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Unsportsmanlike Conduct | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Grand Total | 9 | 8 | 17 |
By Unit:
| Team | Defense | Offense | ST | Grand Total |
| Arizona | 5 | 4 | 0 | 9 |
| Washington | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| Grand Total | 6 | 8 | 3 | 17 |
By Player:
| Against | Player | Penalty | Accepted | Declined |
| Arizona | T. McBride | False Start | 1 | 0 |
| D. Humphries | Offensive Holding | 1 | 0 | |
| P. Johnson | Unsportsmanlike Conduct | 1 | 0 | |
| J. Thompson | Lowering the Head to Make Forcible Contact | 1 | 0 | |
| B. Baker | Neutral Zone Infraction | 0 | 1 | |
| Ma. Wilson | Defensive Pass Interference | 1 | 0 | |
| W. Hernandez | Ineligible Downfield Pass | 1 | 0 | |
| J. Ledbetter | Roughing the Passer | 1 | 0 | |
| K. White | Lowering the Head to Make Forcible Contact | 1 | 0 | |
| H. Froholdt | Ineligible Downfield Pass | 1 | 0 | |
| Washington | J. Bates | Offensive Holding | 1 | 0 |
| J. Bates | Offensive Pass Interference | 1 | 0 | |
| Defense | Defensive Too Many Men on Field | 1 | 0 | |
| J. Martin | Illegal Block Above the Waist | 1 | 0 | |
| C. Holmes | Illegal Block Above the Waist | 1 | 0 | |
| Offense | Delay of Game | 1 | 0 | |
| K. Fuller | Illegal Use of Hands | 0 | 1 | |
| A. Wylie | Offensive Holding | 1 | 0 | |
| S. Charles | Offensive Holding | 1 | 0 |
Week 2 Summary
Denver – 9 accepted penalties (2 declined) for 58 yards, gave up 4 first downs via penalty
Washington – 8 accepted penalties (0 declined) for 71 yards, gave up 3 first downs via penalty
This is the summary of penalties committed by each team:
By Penalty:
| Penalty | Denver | Washington | Grand Total |
| Defensive Holding | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Defensive Pass Interference | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Disqualification | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Face Mask | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| False Start | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Illegal Use of Hands | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Neutral Zone Infraction | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Offensive Holding | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Offensive Pass Interference | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Player Out of Bounds | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Roughing the Passer | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Grand Total | 9 | 8 | 17 |
By Unit:
| Team | Defense | Offense | ST | Grand Total |
| Denver | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| Washington | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| Grand Total | 9 | 7 | 1 | 17 |
By Player:
| Against | Player | Penalty | Accepted | Declined |
| Denver | F. Moreau | Defensive Holding | 2 | 0 |
| M. McGlinchey | False Start | 1 | 0 | |
| M. McGlinchey | Offensive Holding | 0 | 1 | |
| N. Bonitto | Face Mask | 1 | 0 | |
| T. Smith | Player Out of Bounds | 1 | 0 | |
| K. Jackson | Disqualification | 1 | 0 | |
| T. Incoom | Defensive Offside | 0 | 1 | |
| P. Surtain | Defensive Pass Interference | 1 | 0 | |
| Z. Allen | Neutral Zone Infraction | 1 | 0 | |
| B. Powers | Offensive Holding | 1 | 0 | |
| Washington | C. Young | Neutral Zone Infraction | 1 | 0 |
| C. Young | Roughing the Passer | 1 | 0 | |
| J. Dotson | Offensive Pass Interference | 1 | 0 | |
| C. Leno | Offensive Holding | 1 | 0 | |
| N. Gates | False Start | 1 | 0 | |
| E. Forbes | Illegal Use of Hands | 1 | 0 | |
| J. Davis | Roughing the Passer | 1 | 0 | |
| S. Cosmi | Offensive Holding | 1 | 0 |
Week 3 Summary
Buffalo – 6 accepted penalties (0 declined) for 45 yards, gave up 2 first downs via penalty
Washington – 2 accepted penalties (1 declined) for 15 yards, gave up 0 first downs via penalty
This is the summary of penalties committed by each team:
By Penalty:
| Penalty | Buffalo | Washington | Grand Total |
| Defensive Holding | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| False Start | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Contact | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Shift | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ineligible Downfield Pass | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Offensive Holding | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Tripping | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Grand Total | 6 | 2 | 8 |
By Unit:
| Team | Defense | Offense | ST | Grand Total |
| Buffalo | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| Washington | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Grand Total | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
By Player:
| Against | Player | Penalty | Accepted | Declined |
| Buffalo | D. Kincaid | Illegal Shift | 1 | 0 |
| D. Kincaid | Tripping | 1 | 0 | |
| S. Brown | Offensive Holding | 1 | 0 | |
| C. Benford | Illegal Contact | 1 | 0 | |
| J. Phillips | Defensive Holding | 1 | 0 | |
| M. Morse | False Start | 1 | 0 | |
| Washington | J. Smith-Williams | Defensive Offside | 0 | 1 |
| D. Mayo | Offensive Holding | 1 | 0 | |
| N.Gates | Ineligible Downfield Pass | 1 | 0 |
Yearly Totals – Thru Week 3
By Player:
| Player | Accepted | Declined |
| J. Bates | 2 | 0 |
| C. Young | 2 | 0 |
| N. Gates | 2 | 0 |
| C. Holmes | 1 | 0 |
| S. Cosmi | 1 | 0 |
| E. Forbes | 1 | 0 |
| Defense | 1 | 0 |
| J. Dotson | 1 | 0 |
| J. Martin | 1 | 0 |
| C. Leno | 1 | 0 |
| A. Wylie | 1 | 0 |
| Offense | 1 | 0 |
| D. Mayo | 1 | 0 |
| S. Charles | 1 | 0 |
| J. Davis | 1 | 0 |
| J. Smith-Williams | 0 | 1 |
| K. Fuller | 0 | 1 |
By Penalty
| Penalty | Defense | Offense | ST | Grand Total |
| Offensive Holding | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Offensive Pass Interference | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Illegal Block Above the Waist | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Roughing the Passer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Defensive Too Many Men on Field | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Use of Hands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Delay of Game | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ineligible Downfield Pass | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| False Start | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Neutral Zone Infraction | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Grand Total | 5 | 9 | 4 | 18 |
Sources: nfl.com, nflpenalries.com