October 17, 2016
Over their last two weeks, the Philadelphia Eagles have had an inordinate number of flags thrown against them, to the point where their games have been difficult to watch.
Against the Detroit Lions a week ago, the Eagles were penalized 14 times for 111 yards. Against the Washington Redskins on Sunday, they were penalized 13 times for 114 yards. Here are the Eagles' penalty counts so far on the season:
| Opponent | Penalties | Yards |
| Browns | 7 | 46 |
| Bears | 5 | 34 |
| Steelers | 10 | 99 |
| Lions | 14 | 111 |
| Redskins | 13 | 114 |
| TOTAL | 49 | 404 |
| OPPONENTS | 29 | 245 |
The Eagles' 9.8 penalties per game lead the NFL, while their 80.8 penalty yards per game are second only to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In fact, the Eagles are on pace for a historic number of penalties. They are on pace for 156.8 penalties this season, which would be third most in the history of the NFL, behind only the 2011 Oakland Raiders and the 1998 Kansas City Chiefs:
| Team | Total accepted penalties |
| 2011 Oakland Raiders | 163 |
| 1998 Kansas City Chiefs | 158 |
| 2016 Philadelphia Eagles | 156.8 (on pace) |
| 1994 Los Angeles Raiders | 156 |
| 1996 Oakland Raiders | 156 |
Unfortunately for the Eagles, this may not just be an anomaly, at least on the defensive side of the ball. Throughout his career, Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has coached teams that committed a consistently high number of penalties:
| Team | Accepted penalties/game | NFL Rank |
| 2009 Lions | 6.13 | 20 |
| 2010 Lions | 8.5 | 31 |
| 2011 Lions | 7.94 | 30 |
| 2012 Lions | 6.44 | 20 |
| 2013 Lions | 6.88 | 24 |
| 2014 Bills | 7.75 | 31 |
| 2016 Eagles (through 5 games) | 9.8 | 32 |
"It starts with me," said Doug Pederson after the Eagles' loss to the Redskins. "I have to go back and evaluate, and it's a discipline thing. I have to look and see if guys are in position, are they out of position, are they moving their feet, not moving their feet. Whatever they're doing, to cause the penalties – some of them are legit, obviously – but it's an area that we definitely have to clean up."
There was some unquestionably incompetent officiating in the Lions game Week 5, but that in no way excuses the inordinate number of penalties the Eagles have committed so far this season. They are playing very undisciplined football, and if it doesn't get better, the Eagles' 3-0 start to the season is going to be wasted.
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