Hold On – Week 16
December 29, 2021
By Noonefromtampa
Statistically speaking, the Dallas game was the second worst loss of the Daniel Snyder era. However, with this being a nationally televised game, with a chance of a playoff spot on the line, this blowout was worst game debacle under Dan’s stewardship. Yes, the team is riddled with injuries and players on the COVID list, but the team showed little heart or fight in the game. There was more passion on the sidelines with Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne getting in a tussle than on the actual field of play. Former Washington player Brian Mitchell had an epic takedown of the team in his postgame report.
Bill Vinovich and his crew call the fewest number of penalties amongst all the officiating crews. The top 10 crews calling the most penalties average 13 calls per game and the average among all crews is slightly over 12 calls per game. Vinovich’s averages 9.4 call per game and only called 7 in this game with 3 of those being declined.
Watching Trevon Diggs‘ manhandling of Terry McLaurin all game reminded me of this quote from Kelly’s Heroes by Moriarty: “When we was in the bocage country, we was assaulted by them Tigers!” None of the holds, shoves, or early hits were worthy of a single flag. Neither were the hits to the helmet, late hits and taunting of quarterback Taylor Heinicke worthy of any penalty calls. It was a “let dem ‘Boys play” night in Dallas.
Diggs has 9 penalties for the season, tying him in a group for the fourth most in the league.
Washington only had one penalty in the stat line this week, Bobby McCain’s viscous hit on Dalton Schultz. The remaining three penalties calls this week were declined. The league average for the season is 6.11 calls per team in a game while week 16 saw the average being 5.25 calls per team in a game. Washington continued the trend of being under the league average for the season (4.88 calls average versus the 6.11 calls league wide) and were under the weekly average (1 versus 5.25).
League Wide Numbers
The Las Vegas Raiders are still leading the league with 114 calls, the Dallas Cowboys in second place with 112 calls while Houston and Carolina are tied for third place with 105 calls. Washington is in 27th place with 78 total calls.
The player totals remain unchanged. Vikings offensive lineman Oli Udoh is the most penalized player in the league with 12 total calls against him. Miami offensive lineman Austin Jackson is in second place with 11 calls, while tied for third with 10 calls are Raiders offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood, Dallas offensive lineman Connor Williams, Raiders offensive lineman John Simpson, and Jacksonville offensive lineman Jawaan Taylor. William Jackson III is the leading Washington player with 7 calls, tying him for 22nd place league-wide.
Week 16 Numbers
Game Summary:
| Team | Penalties | Yards | First Downs |
| Dallas | 3 | 15 | 1 |
| Washington | 1 | 13 | 1 |
Penalties called:
| Penalty | Dallas | Washington | Grand Total |
| Defensive Holding | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Defensive Offside | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Unnecessary Roughness | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Grand Total | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Penalties by Unit:
| Team | Defense | Offense | ST | Grand Total |
| Dallas | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Washington | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Grand Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
By Player:
| Player | Penalty | Accepted | Declined |
| C. Toohill | Defensive Offside | 0 | 1 |
| B. McCain | Unnecessary Roughness | 1 | 0 |
| O. Odighizuwa | Defensive Offside | 1 | 0 |
| D. Payne | Defensive Offside | 0 | 1 |
| K. Joseph | Defensive Offside | 1 | 0 |
| D. Roberts | Defensive Holding | 0 | 1 |
| J. Kearse | Defensive Holding | 1 | 0 |
Trends and Impacts
I don’t remember a game where all the penalties were called on one side of the ball like this game, where the defenses for both teams got called for every penalty in the game. Also, how hard is it to not line up offsides on defense, just look down the line where the ball is? None of the penalties in the game had a material effect on the beatdown the Cowboys put on the Washington Football Team.
Washington Overall Season Numbers
By Player:
| Player | Accepted | Declined | Offset | Superseded |
| W. Jackson | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Scherff | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| R. Seals-Jones | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C. Young | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Offense | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| W. Schweitzer | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Payne | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Cosmi | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Charles | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Curl | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| T. Apke | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Holcomb | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Hudson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Bates | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Sweat | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Thomas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. McLaurin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Leno | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. St-Juste | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Allen | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| E. Flowers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Smith-Williams | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Ioannidis | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Toohill | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| J. McKissic | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| K. Ismael | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. McCain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Roullier | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Heinicke | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Fuller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| N. Orchard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Humphries | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Lucas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Gandy-Golden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Cheeseman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Davis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Patterson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Collins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Way | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. McTyer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| W. Bradley-King | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| S. Reyes | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| D. Roberts | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Gibson | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| T. Larsen | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
By Penalty and Unit:
| Penalty | Defense | Offense | ST | Grand Total |
| False Start | 0 | 12 | 3 | 15 |
| Offensive Holding | 0 | 10 | 4 | 14 |
| Defensive Pass Interference | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Roughing the Passer | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Defensive Offside | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Delay of Game | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Neutral Zone Infraction | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Unnecessary Roughness | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Defensive Holding | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Offensive Pass Interference | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Face Mask | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Clipping | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Touch Kick | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Illegal Double Team Block | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Illegal Formation | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ineligible Downfield Pass | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Low Block | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Illegal Blindside Block | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Taunting | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Forward Pass | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Horse Collar Tackle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Grand Total | 32 | 35 | 11 | 78 |
Week to Week:
| Penalty | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Grand Total |
| False Start | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Offensive Holding | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| Defensive Pass Interference | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Roughing the Passer | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Defensive Offside | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Delay of Game | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Neutral Zone Infraction | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Unnecessary Roughness | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Defensive Holding | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Offensive Pass Interference | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Face Mask | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Clipping | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Touch Kick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Double Team Block | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Formation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ineligible Downfield Pass | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Low Block | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Blindside Block | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Taunting | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Illegal Forward Pass | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Horse Collar Tackle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Grand Total | 8 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 78 |
The most common penalties committed by Washington during the season have been false start with 15 calls; offensive holding with 14 calls; and defensive pass interference with 10 calls. The offense leads the defense by three penalties 35 to 32.
Comparing Washington against the league:
| Penalty | Washington | League Average/Team |
| False Start | 15 | 16.3 |
| Offensive Holding | 14 | 18.8 |
| Defensive Pass Interference | 10 | 8.2 |
As always, if you have any questions on penalties, please post them in the comments section or hit me up on Twitter @noonefromtampa.