(103.3 The Goat) – The New Orleans Saints haven’t been the same since the departure of Drew Brees as well as other key players, and have struggled to find the right replacement to lead the franchise back to the big game (or at least to the top of the division standings.) The Saints haven’t won the NFC South division since the 2019-2020 season. Since that time, Tampa Bay has ruled the roost, even with a losing record in 2022.
NFL’s Most Penalized Teams in the Past Decade
One of the metrics measured that can impact the performance of the team is penalties. The number of calls for and against a team as well as the yards gained or loss can help or hinder a team during the season. A recent study by InGame analyzed the penalties for each of the 32 NFL teams over the past decade. According to the statistics from NFLPenalties.com, the top 5 teams that received the most penalties were ranked.
Las Vegas Raiders – 1,259 flagsSeattle Seahawks – 1,249 flagsBuffalo Bills – 1,235 flagsCleveland Browns – 1,224 flagsTampa Bay Buccaneers – 1,206 flags
Coincidentally, the top two teams have the Pete Carroll connection. While the Bills and Buccaneers have seen success despite the number of penalties, only Tampa has won a Super Bowl in the past 10 years.
How the Saints Compare to the Top Penalized NFL Teams
Compared to the top 5 most penalized teams in the NFL, the Saints fared much better with a flag count of 1037 since the start of the 2016 season. That’s an average of 104 per season and 6 flags per game. This equates to 1-2 fewer flags per game than the top 5 most penalized teams.
Inconsistency in Penalties Between Seasons
Some seasons were better than others. In 2023 and 2024, the Saints were flagged fewer times than the teams they played against with a net flag count of 5. Compare that to the 2019 and 2020 seasons where the net flag count was definitely not in their favor, averaging -28.5. Had those two seasons not been so extreme, their net flag count would be much better.
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Home vs Away Flags
It’s also interesting to note the ratio of flags thrown at home games versus away games. Every year the ratio fluctuates, but none were quite as extreme as the 2023 season when the Saints were flagged for penalties 24 more times during away games than at home. The last time the ratio was anywhere that extreme was in the 2016Â season when they received 14 more flags at away games than home. In the current season (as of 11/20) the New Orleans Saints have had 12 more home flags than away flags despite having played more away games than home games this season.
What Does This Mean for NFL Teams?
Taken by itself, the overview statistics don’t mean much. It’s not until you combine with other factors including turnovers, talent, injuries as well as an analysis of the specifics regarding penalties (including frequency in later quarters of the game, penalty differential, types of penalties) can you even begin to try to gain a better understanding of the big picture. All that being said, as a Saints fan, it’s interesting to note that the Atlanta Falcons have routinely been one of the least penalized teams in the NFL yet still haven’t won a Super Bowl (always remember 28-3).
Saints Memes Encapsulating the 2025 Season So Far
Gallery Credit: Dave Steel