There are a few things that come standard in a Pittsburgh Steelers v. Cleveland Browns matchup. Odds are, as was the case Sunday, it’ll be a low-scoring affair. A tight rivalry game often breeds extra penalties, too, but Pittsburgh’s discipline within the rule book had been strong all season heading into the game.
Before the game, Pittsburgh was the least-penalized team in the NFL, averaging just 4.8 penalties per game. Nonetheless, Ron Torbert’s crew found cause to call Pittsburgh on 10 penalties in the game, and many were highly questionable to the Steelers fanbase.
NFL fans who are plugged in well enough know that this isn’t overly surprising for Torbert’s crew. Last year, his officiating crew threw the second-most flags in the league. Heading into Week 6, only three crews had thrown more flags.
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The first penalty that raised eyebrows was the illegal blindside block called on Jabrill Peppers during a punt return after the Browns’ first drive. Ke'Shawn Williams returned the punt 47 yards, but Peppers’ block called the ball back to the Steelers’ own 10-yard line. Instead of having excellent field position to build on their early lead, the Steelers were punting themselves six plays later.
Elsewhere, T.J. Watt was called offside on two separate occasions, and neither was made particularly obvious by the broadcast. The second instance wiped out a potential fumble recovery by the defense.
Of course, the Browns had to deal with the laundry on the field, too. Cleveland came into the game ranked in the middle of the pack, 16th, in penalties per game, averaging 7.4 per game. The Browns finished with six penalties in the game.
To avoid piling on Torbert’s crew, at least one Browns’ penalty did pay off in the Steelers’ favor as they were called for running into the punter in the third quarter. Instead of the drive ending there, the Steelers got a new set of downs and drove the field to score their first touchdown of the contest.
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Of course, there are a lot of variables that go into how many penalties a team has to endure in any game, and the opponent and crew are sure to be near the top of the list of primary candidates for an increase. And while it’s no less frustrating for fans to see more than double the typical amount of penalties against their guys, Pittsburgh did overcome it well enough to pick up their most comfortable win on the scoreboard so far this season.
Still, hopefully, this uptick in penalties has more to do with the opponent and officials than a downward trend. Being a roster filled with veterans, Pittsburgh should remain a lightly penalized team going forward.