On Monday, the Green Bay Packers lost a close division game to the Bears in Chicago, 20-17. Besides the Bears improving to 3-0 and becoming the lone team in the NFL’s young season to remain undefeated in the NFC, the story of the game centered around Packer penalties. The Packers committed a record 18 penalties for an astounding 152 yards during the game. These penalties definitely factored into Chicago’s victory on Monday, but could the Packers have won the game despite setting a franchise record for miscues?
Last night I received an inquiry from one of the blog readers, a self-proclaimed Packers fan, who asked if Green Bay, or any team for that matter, could ever win a game after committing so many errors. I jokingly responded, “sure they could… if they were playing the hapless Detroit Lions instead of a team like Chicago.” After further research, it turns out this off-the-cuff remark was correct.
NFL teams typically win about 54% of their games when they commit fewer penalties than their opponents, which is only slightly different than the roughly 58% of games teams win playing at home. Also, a single penalty at a key time late in a close game is far more likely to cost a team a victory than a bunch of penalties sprinkled over the course of four quarters.
Packer linebacker Nick Barnett, when discussing the loss in Chicago said, “you can’t win a game like that.” Sloppy play resulting in penalties certainly makes such a blanket statement more true than not, but Green Bay only has to look at their own history to see that penalties in and of themselves were not the overwhelming reason for their loss on Monday.
Against the Bears, the Packers committed 18 penalties for 152 yards, but didn’t allow a sack and outgained Chicago in total yardage, 379-276. A key fumble by James Jones late in the fourth quarter, not penalties, cost them the game. By contrast, two games in Packer history stand out for being riddled with penalties and sloppy play by the Green and Gold.
In week 6 of 2009, the Green Bay Packers hosted the downtrodden Detroit Lions. The Packers were quite careless during this game. Officials flagged them 13 times for 130 yards. The Lions vaunted pass rush sacked Aaron Rodgers five times and Green Bay turned the ball over twice. You’d think the Packers would have lost. Against a better team, even a mediocre team, they probably would have, but this particular game they crushed the Lions 26-0, outgaining them in total yardage an impressive 436-149.
Going back further in history, the Green Bay Packers hosted the now defunct Boston Yanks on October 21, 1945. This game, nearly 65 years ago, held the gold standard for illegal Packer activity until last Monday. Green Bay committed 17 penalties for a record 184 penalty yards and turned the ball over three times against the Yanks. The Packers did manage to gain the yardage advantage in this contest, 456-250, but this yardage difference was far more akin to the Bears game than the thrashing of the Lions in 2009. Despite the record number of miscues, the Packers demolished the Yanks 38-14.
Green Bay combined for 30 penalties, totaling 314 yards, five sacks and five turnovers during those two contests, yet still managed to outscore Boston and Detroit, 64-14.
So, Packer fans, take heart. Your team can win big when they repeatedly draw the ire of the officials… but not on Monday Night, not when away from the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field and only if they are playing the inept likes of modern-day Detroit or the Boston Yanks, a franchise that never won more than four games in a single season.
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