The most penalized teams in NFL history

Through Week 3 of the 2021 NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles committed 35 penalties, which broke a franchise record and put them on pace to finish with 198 penalties, by far the most in NFL history.

The Eagles have since cleaned up some of their issues and now average a league-worst nine penalties per contest. At that rate, Philadelphia would finish with 153 penalties through a 17-week season, which is still enough to rank in the top five for most penalized teams of all time.

With 10 weeks left in the season, the Eagles have time to right the ship and prevent the franchise from making the wrong kind of history.

For now, let's reflect on the similarly undisciplined franchises that came before them, as we rank the top 10 most penalized teams in NFL history.

10. 2005 Oakland Raiders

Number of penalties: 147
Penalty yards: 1,132
Record: 4-12

The "Bad Boys" of the NFL, the Raiders have long been known for their gritty, aggressive style of play, which has resulted in a number of penalties along the way.

That hard-nosed assertiveness sometimes worked in their favor, but in 2005, during Norv Turner's second and final season as head coach, the Silver and Black stumbled to a 4-12 record, as they racked up a whopping 147 penalties for 1,132 penalty yards.

9. 2016 Oakland Raiders

Number of penalties: 147
Penalty yards: 1,247
Record: 12-4

More than a decade — and seven head coaches — later, the Raiders remained an unruly franchise.

During the 2016 season, under head coach Jack Del Rio, Oakland not only tallied the ninth most penalties (147) in NFL history, but also set a single-game record for flags, in a Week 8 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In that matchup, the Raiders were penalized 23 times, including for unnecessary roughness, offensive holding, and illegal use of hands. 

Despite their penchant for penalties, Oakland finished with a 12-4 record, but fell to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round, after the Raiders were penalized eight times for 63 yards in the game.

8. 1993 Los Angeles Raiders

Number of penalties: 148
Penalty yards: 1,181
Record: 10-6

An earlier change of scenery in Los Angeles did nothing to alter the Raiders' style of play.

Back in 1993, under head coach Art Shell, the team accumulated 148 penalties on its way to a 10-6 record.

The Raiders reached the postseason, where they were assessed just four penalties in a 42-24 win over John Elway and the Denver Broncos.

In the Divisional Round, Los Angeles was called for nine penalties, worth 77 yards, but only lost 29-23 to the eventual AFC champion, the Buffalo Bills.

7. 2010 Oakland Raiders

Number of penalties: 148
Penalty yards: 1,276
Record: 8-8

It should come as no surprise to see another Raiders team on this list.

In 2010, under the coaching of Tom Cable, Oakland committed 148 penalties for 1,276 yards and concluded the season at 8-8.

Nearly a quarter of those penalties were the result of false starts, and another 18 were for offensive holding.

6. 2017 Seattle Seahawks

Number of penalties: 148
Penalty yards: 1,342
Record: 9-7

In 2017, the Seahawks tied the 2010 Raiders, with 148 penalties, but they gave up more penalty yards.

Nonetheless, Seattle had a winning regular-season record (9-7) but missed the postseason for only the second time since Pete Carroll became head coach in 2011.

5. 1989 Houston Oilers

Number of penalties: 149
Penalty yards: 1,153
Record: 9-7

In Jerry Glanville's fifth and final season as Oilers coach, the team managed a 9-7 record, despite a league-high 149 penalties.

The Oilers earned a Wild Card bid and met the Pittsburgh Steelers, who shared the distinction with Houston as the first playoff teams since the 1984 Giants to finish the regular season with a negative point differential.

In their 1989 Wild Card matchup, Pittsburgh bested Houston, 26-23, and the Oilers committed another eight penalties in the loss.

4. 1994 Los Angeles Raiders

Number of penalties: 156
Penalty yards: 1,186
Record: 9-7

A year after Shell's team piled up 148 penalties, the 1994 Raiders were assessed 156 penalties and missed the playoffs, with a 9-7 record.

Former Raiders owner Al Davis fired Shell at the end of the year but later called the move a mistake.

Shell was rehired for one season, in 2006, and turned in a 2-14 record, before he was replaced by Lane Kiffin the following year.

3. 1996 Oakland Raiders

Number of penalties: 156
Penalty yards: 1,266
Record: 7-9

Two seasons later, the Raiders were still an official's worst nightmare.

With 156 flags, the 1996 campaign marked the fourth straight season the Raiders led the league in penalties and tied them with the Chicago Bears for most consecutive seasons as the NFL's leader in penalties.

2. 1998 Kansas City Chiefs

Number of penalties: 158
Penalty yards: 1,304
Record: 7-9

Coming off a 13-3 season and a crushing Divisional Round loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Broncos, Marty Schottenheimer's Chiefs had their eye on another successful run to the postseason.

This undisciplined squad never reached the playoffs, however, as Kansas City fell to a 7-9 record and fourth place in the AFC West.

Penalties were a major issue for the team, which recorded a season-high 17 in a loss to the Seahawks.

A Week 11 meeting with Denver was another low point for the Chiefs, as the defense was penalized five times on the same drive, with three of those infractions called on linebacker Derrick Thomas in the 30–7 defeat.

1. 2011 Oakland Raiders

Number of penalties: 163
Penalty yards: 1,358
Record: 8-8

In Hue Jackson’s lone season as Raiders head coach, he left a lasting impression, with an NFL record 163 penalties called against his team.

Oakland kicked off the 2011 season with 15 penalties, in a 23-20 win at Denver, and tied that number in a Week 9 rematch against their AFC West opponent.

Despite the flurry of flags, Oakland got off to a 7-4 start, then stumbled to an 8-8 record and missed the postseason.

Jackson was fired by the Raiders on Jan. 10, 2012 and replaced by Dennis Allen. Jackson's successor cut down significantly on penalties, but Allen tallied just eight victories during his two-and-a-half-year tenure.