NFL Refs Are Throwing Flags This Season At An Absurd Rate This Season But Teams Are Not Taking Advantage

Prior to the season, the NFL made several passing play rules special points of emphasis this season. The result has been an absurd number of yellow flags thrown during games this season.

Through eight weeks, all three of the defensive points of emphasis in the passing game are up at least 80%. The biggest increase is for illegal contact more than five yards past the line of scrimmage which has seen nearly three times as many flags this season. Meanwhile offensive pass interference calls are up this year but the increase (38%) is small compared to the defensive points of emphasis.

What is interesting is that teams are not taking advantage of all the flags being thrown. The number of passes being attempted by teams is only up slightly from 35.2 per game to 35.4 and scoring has only increased from 23.3 points per game to 23.4.