INFRACTION INDEX • NFL
See which NFL teams were penalized most, which games stood out, and how every team compares with the prior season’s league average.
The Infraction Index™ combines penalties and penalty yards into one score. 100 = the prior season’s league average. Higher scores mean more infractions.
WEEKLY NFL
PENALTY RECAP
WEEK 4 · 2026 · INFRACTION INDEX RECAP
Published Oct 6, 2026
So much for restraint. The league posted an Infraction Index of 129.8 on 271 penalties and 2,076 penalty yards. That was the most penalized week of 2026, up from 116.1 in Week 3, and clearly dirtier than 2025’s Week 4 (112.6).
Los Angeles (LAC) @ Seattle (SEA) was the season’s most penalized game so far, with a game Index of 254.4 on 30 penalties and 280 penalty yards, about 1.8× the penalties and 2.2× the penalty yards of a normal Week 4 game. Seattle’s Index was 256.3, while Indianapolis (IND) and San Francisco (SF) both sat at 12.7, about a 20× Index gap on the same slate.
Season Snapshot is still a calmer 117.5; Green Bay (GB) still leads season to date with an Index of 166.3, and yes, the AFC South is still the only division under the prior season’s league average of 100.
▲ +13.7 vs Week 3
129.8
INFRACTION INDEX
WEEK 3 · 2026 · INFRACTION INDEX RECAP
Published Sep 29, 2026
The flags came back without going nuclear, and the Infraction Index rose with them. The league posted an Index of 116.1 (up from 106.2 in Week 2) on 237 penalties and 1,902 penalty yards, near Week 1’s open and above 2025’s Week 3 (110.4).
The “heaviest” game barely flexed: Minnesota (MIN) @ Tampa Bay (TB) posted a game Index of 152.6, the softest top game of Weeks 1 through 4. Los Angeles (LAR) posted an Index of 190.8, the week’s highest, while Houston (HOU) posted 29.4, about a 6.5× Index gap.
Season Snapshot through three weeks sits at 113.4; Green Bay (GB) still leads season to date with an Index of 173.5, and the AFC South remains the only division under the prior season’s league average of 100.
▲ +9.9 vs Week 2
116.1
INFRACTION INDEX
WEEK 2 · 2026 · INFRACTION INDEX RECAP
Published Sep 22, 2026
For one week, everybody tried to behave. The league posted an Infraction Index of 106.2 on 218 penalties and 1,728 penalty yards. That was down from 117.9 in Week 1, the softest week of 2026 so far, and basically a clone of 2025’s Week 2 (105.6).
Then Green Bay (GB) @ New York (NYJ) ruined the quiet with a game Index of 247.0 on 27 penalties and 289 penalty yards, roughly 2× the week’s average penalties and 2.7× the penalty yards. New York (NYJ) posted an Index of 254.3, the week’s highest, while New York (NYG) posted an Index of 43.1. Same city, about a 6× Index gap.
Season Snapshot through two weeks cooled to 112.0; Green Bay (GB) still leads season to date with an Index of 214.8, and the AFC South remains the only division under the prior season’s league average of 100.
▼ −11.7 vs Week 1
106.2
INFRACTION INDEX
WEEK 1 · 2026 · INFRACTION INDEX RECAP
Published Sep 15, 2026
No clean start: 2026 opened with an Infraction Index already above the prior season’s league average: a league Index of 117.9 on 237 penalties and 1,959 penalty yards (+17.9 over 100). Slightly dirtier than 2025’s Week 1 (115.6) on nearly the same flag count; the penalty yards edged it.
Dallas (DAL) @ New York (NYG) was the early mess, with a game Index of 174.1 on 19 penalties and 204 penalty yards, about 1.7× the penalty yards of a normal Week 1 game. Green Bay (GB) posted an Index of 189.8, the week’s highest, while San Francisco (SF) posted a quiet 36.2.
NFC opened clearly dirtier than the AFC (125.3 vs 110.5), and the AFC South was already the only division under the prior season’s league average of 100.
117.9
INFRACTION INDEX
WEEK 5 · 2026 · INFRACTION INDEX RECAP
Published Oct 13, 2026
The league drew fewer flags than it did in Week 4 and still pushed the season total higher. The NFL posted an Infraction Index of 119.7 on 228 penalties and 1,845 penalty yards. That is down from 129.8 in Week 4, but it is still the second most penalized week of 2026, and it was enough to lift Season Snapshot to 117.9 (+0.4 vs Week 4).
Buffalo (BUF) @ Los Angeles (LAR) was the most penalized game of the week, with a game Index of 189.8 on 24 penalties and 196 penalty yards through overtime, about 1.6× a normal Week 5 game in both penalties and penalty yards. Buffalo's Index of 211.3 was the highest team mark of the week.
New York (NYJ) takes over the season lead with an Index of 154.2, ahead of Los Angeles (LAC) at 148.3, Green Bay (GB) at 144.2, Houston (HOU) at 141.7 and Baltimore (BAL) at 141.1. Green Bay led after each of the first four weeks and dropped to No. 3 after a 4-penalty Week 5. For the first time this season, all eight divisions sit above the prior season’s league average of 100, with the AFC East the most penalized at 131.4.
▼ −10.1 vs Week 4
119.7
INFRACTION INDEX