It might not seem like it, but the Detroit Lions wound up as one of the NFL’s least-penalized teams in the 2018 season. Detroit drew the fifth-fewest flags of any team in the 16 games.
That’s an improvement from 2017 when the Lions ranked 12th.
Interestingly, the Lions and their opponents were assessed the exact same number of enforced penalties. There were 94 enforced infractions committed by the Lions and the same number by those playing against Detroit. The Lions were the only team to have that zero differential.
In terms of yards, the Lions cost themselves 852 yards. But the officials marched off 886 against the Lions foes.
One big positive from Matt Patricia’s rookie season at the Lions helm: only the New Orleans Saints (19) committed fewer pre-snap penalties than Detroit’s 20. That’s down from 28 in 2017.
All figures are taken from NFL Penalties.
