With the NFL changing certain rules to further protect offensive players, including quarterbacks, fans were subjected to longer games because referees kept throwing flags an absurdly amount of times during a single game.
The 2018 NFL season will be remembered for it for a long time to come, mainly because refs literally set an actual freaking record with 3,447 penalties called during the 2018 regular season.
To put this record further into perspective, first-year referees Shawn Hochuli’s (253) and Shawn Smith’s (228) crews led the league in penalties assessed. That is absurd and needs to be put to an end.
