The NFL is cracking down on celebrations more than ever and fans are furious

NBC Sports

An unexpected change to the NFL is already rearing its ugly head and fans are upset as the league is apparently cracking down on celebrations more than ever.

Every year the NFL introduces new rules and decides to emphasize the enforcement of old rules. However, neither appear to be the case for celebrations this season and yet players are getting flagged in bunches and in crucial situations.

Specifically, the league appears to be going out of its way to penalize "choreographed celebrations." That is, when two or more players participate in a celebration that was planned ahead of time.

We saw this in the Sunday night game when the Arizona Cardinals recovered a huge fumble in the second quarter. It appeared that three players got involved in a quick dance to celebrate the turnover and the Cardinals were given a 15-yard penalty.

Another example happened earlier in the day when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were penalized 15 yards for excessive celebration when two players waved their arms in sync after a sack.

In each case, the referee cited "choreographed celebration" as the reason for the penalty. 

In both cases, the celebrations did not appear to taunt the opposition and did not appear to delay the game in any meaningful way. And yet the officials were trigger-happy with their flags as if they were waiting to penalize a team for making a good play and being happy about it.

We also saw the Oakland Raiders get flagged for excessive celebration after their successful 2-point conversion in the final minute against the New Orleans Saints. That was a penalty that could have had huge ramifications as the Saints only needed a field goal to win the game following the ensuing kickoff. They did come up short on their field goal attempt.

According to the NFL, this year's rules changes included things like expanding the horse collar rule, ejections for two unsportsmanlike fouls, and changing the touchback to the 25-yard line. Points of emphasis on rules already in place this year included rush tactics on field goals and extra points, low hits on the quarterback, and coaches leaving the bench area.

At no point does the NFL say that officials are to emphasize excessive celebrations or "choreographed celebrations."

In the meantime, fans are livid on social media.

 And we didn't even look for Cardinals fans.