The Voice of Lee Schwartz, father of two former NFL studs, Geoffrey and Mitchell Schwartz, author of Raising Giants and member of Concussion & CTE Foundation’s West Coast Advisory Board . . .
A BLIZZARD OF YELLOW HANKIES
With two TVs hanging in our Bonus Room I’m not lacking for screens on which to watch football games, especially on Sundays. One TV allows me to watch the locally carried game(s) on terrestrial channels. The other tube features the Sunday Ticket four box: three games plus the Red Zone on one screen. Sometimes an overload for my brain bouncing around from game to game.
While watching from the beginning of the season, one element jumped out at me like lime green uniforms. The yellow hankies have been littering the turf at a rate that has seemed excessive. So I did some research.
During the 2025 NFL regular season, on average each week 236 penalties were flagged. (38 of those were declined or offsetting.) The first week of 2026, 262 were called. (237 accepted.) That translates to a meaningful—at least to me—increase of 11%.
The second week saw instances continue to increase to 284 penalties flagged. (240 were accepted.) That’s another jump of 8.4%. Compared to the 2025 average of 236, the second week numbers had vaulted 20%. Don’t know about you but all these hankies on the turf are disrupting the game itself and spoiling my viewing pleasure.
The latest information that I find available reports the following . . .
Through the first four weeks of the 2026 NFL season officials called 1,103 total flags (including unaccepted and offsetting calls) and 963 accepted penalties, setting an all-time record for accepted penalties through Week 4 since play-by-play data tracking began in 1978
So, I ask, why are we seeing such a dramatic increase?
- Zebras directed to call more penalties.
- Play not as sharp because of less practice time and game involvement during preseason?
- Lack of focus/concentration on part of players?
- Overall talent level has declined?
- Players not held accountable by coaching staffs?
I welcome you to share your thoughts by responding to this survey. You can choose one option or more.
Whatever the reason(s), I can’t imagine that all these flags . . . suggesting a sloppiness in play . . . are making games easier to watch for the viewing public, especially if the upward trajectory continues. Not easier for me.
Time to clean up the act!
I’m writing a book about overcoming my fear of stairs. It’s a step-by-step guide.