Philadelphia overcame various types of adversity on Thursday night to win in Carolina. One specific type of adversity came from a bizarre discrepancy regarding the number of yellow flags thrown by the folks in black and white.
The Eagles were penalized 10 times for 126 yards. The Panthers were penalized once, for only one yard.
It’s a bizarre imbalance. As one source with a team that wasn’t playing on Thursday night said, “There are penalties on nearly every play, and it’s just whether they are called or not. It’s can’t be this much out of balance -- it’s impossible.”
Well, not impossible, given that it happened. But it’s a fair question to ask. Why so many flags on Philadelphia, and so few on Carolina? It’s good that the Eagles won; otherwise, the disparity in penalties would have been one of the biggest stories of the game. (And some would have argued -- incorrectly -- that the fix was in.)
The disconnect seemed to be the most obvious in the area of pass interference. The officials seemed to be calling it very tight against the Eagles defensive backs, but not against the Panthers defensive backs.
Whatever the explanation, it’s a strange outcome that could have influenced the ultimate outcome of the game. And it’s something the league should be taking a closer look at in order to avoid future games involving so many penalties against one team, and so few against another.
