How big of an advantage do the Indianapolis Colts get by playing at Lucas Oil Stadium?
According to a new report from Sharp Football Analysis, the Colts rank seventh in home-field advantage, based primarily on penalty difference. The story theorizes that crowd noise can affect game officials and make opposing offenses out of sync, producing pre-snap penalties and holding calls.
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“Stadium noise is at its peak level before the visiting offense snaps the ball, with home crowds impacting offensive pre-snap and subsequently offensive holding infractions at a far higher rate than any other penalty category throughout the course of a game,” the report said.
What Sharp Football Analysis said about the Indianapolis Colts
“We can confirm that the visiting team penalty numbers are elevated in this stadium versus the league average, resulting in high rankings for the Colts in multiple categories.
“The Colts rank second overall in home field penalty advantage, including ranking 10th as a net beneficiary of unnecessary roughness and roughing the passer penalties at home.
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“Indianapolis is more efficient and/or benefits from officiating at a far higher rate at home, ranking eighth in home versus road penalty per game average.
“Finally, the Colts rank 10th at generating offensive pre-snap and offensive holding infractions on opponents.
“The numbers associated with this venue are hard to ignore and all the more impressive given the quarterback carousel the Colts have dealt with since 2019.”
Colts are among least-penalized NFL teams in 2024
The Colts were among the least-penalized teams in 2024:
Penalties per game: 5.5 (3rd fewest)
Penalty yards per game: 40.2 (fewest)
Yards per penalty: 7.4 (2nd fewest)
Despite this edge, they’ve gone 32-26 at home between 2018-24, 12th among the 13 teams the story said had the biggest home-field edge.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis Colts have a big homefield advantage based on penalties