The surging Cleveland Browns lead the NFL in a stat head coach Todd Monken wanted no part of. Through four games, his team has been flagged a whopping 51 times.
Not all of those infractions have been accepted — six have been declined and two were offsetting, per NFL Penalties — but the rate at which the Browns are getting flagged is inexcusable. Of their league-leading 43 accepted penalties, 19 have come on offense, 16 have come on defense, and eight have come on special teams.
Thanks to NFL analytics expert Warren Sharp, Monken and the Browns might actually have a valid explanation for their early-season woes.
Sharp Football Analysis did a deep dive into the NFL’s officiating through Week 4, and the results were staggering. NFL offenses are being flagged at the highest recorded rate since the millennium, including 17 nullified touchdowns.
Per Sharp, only five touchdowns were nullified by penalties through the first four games of 2025. There were four touchdowns nullified through this point of the 2024 season.
“Offenses are getting flagged at the highest per-snap rate in any Weeks 1 through 4 stretch since 2000 — 6.18 penalties on offense per 100 snaps," Sharp said. "We have also seen the No. 1 most penalties called on third or fourth down in the second half of games that I have on record since 2000. When we talk about what changes the outcome of games. In the second half, third or fourth down, we’re seeing the most that we’ve ever seen in 2026."
17 touchdowns nullified in less than 4 full weeks
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 5, 2026
#1 most penalties against offenses per-snap since at least 2000
#1 most penalties on 3rd/4th downs in the 2nd half of games since at least 2000
#1 most penalties in the red zone against offenses since at least 2000 pic.twitter.com/vHdtCK0ynK
Cleveland's presnap penalties make it impossible to blame NFL officiating
Cleveland’s penalty statistics may be slightly inflated by whatever point of emphasis the NFL gave its officials this offseason — but a closer look at how the Browns are being flagged points back to their inexperienced coaching staff.
Monken is in his first year as an NFL head coach while doubling as the offensive play caller. It’s the same deal for defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg and special teams coordinator Byron Storer.
All but five of Cleveland’s 19 offensive penalties, or 74%, have been of the presnap variety, so we’re talking about calls like false start, delay of game, illegal motion, and illegal formation. Those infractions are almost 100 percent avoidable with better coaching and execution.
Rutenberg’s defense, meanwhile, leads the NFL with seven presnap penalties themselves.
To Sharp’s point, we’re seeing way too many flags across the league through four weeks. With the noise ramping up, the NFL will likely step in and make sure things cool down to an extent.
But as Monken would say: No one’s hurting the Browns but the Browns right now.
Cleveland’s 3-1 start has been one of the NFL’s best early-season storylines, but Monken and his staff will have to clean up the presnap controllables to keep the good times rolling.
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