Browns one of the most penalized teams in the NFL in 2021
The Cleveland Browns have had their share of struggles during the 2021 season. Injuries have impacted the team in a variety of ways starting with left tackle Jedrick Wills’ ankle injury in Week 1.
In Weeks 1, 2, 3 and 5, the team scored 26 or more points but lost two of those games. In the other three weeks, the offense scored 14, 14 and 17 while winning two of those games.
The defense has been hit or miss giving up more than 30 points in three games and 21 points to the lowly Houston Texans. They also held the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos to 27 points combined.
Rarely has it seemed that things have come together for Cleveland’s entire team.
One constant on the negative side has been the team’s penalties. At the end of Week 7, the Browns have the fourth-most penalties in the NFL:
Entering Week 8, here are the top 5 teams with most accepted penalties against this season:
1) #Eagles – 58
2) #Raiders – 53
3) #Texans – 51
4) #Browns – 49
5) #Bucs – 48Top 5 with fewest:
1) #Rams – 28
2) #Packers – 29
3) #Bengals – 30
4) #Colts – 30
5) #Jaguars – 35— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 26, 2021
Interestingly, three teams from each of the above lists have winning records so far. Las Vegas, Cleveland and Tampa Bay have overcome their penalties while Los Angeles, Green Bay and Cincinnati have kept their penalties low on their way to winning records.
The Browns have been the victims of some terrible penalties. The team was burned by a bogus pass interference penalty versus the Chargers that greatly impacted the game. Malik McDowell was penalized then fined for a call against Arizona that few believe is the right call.
In the end, Cleveland will have to clean up their penalties, especially the presnap ones, in order to give themselves the best chance of overcoming all the other obstacles. If not, the undisciplined play could cause them a very important game in the near future.
