The following is an excerpt from Warren Sharp's 2026 Football Preview. In addition to Warren's deep, detailed write-up on all 32 NFL teams, each chapter features page after page of full-color charts, stats, and heatmaps, as well as penalty analysis from Joe Gibbs. Click here for a full FREE chapter from the 2026 Football Preview.
Penalties are an under-discussed aspect of NFL success and failure. Average teams can become playoff contenders with good discipline, and good teams can become great simply by winning the penalty battle.
Let's look at how the Green Bay Packers performed from a penalty perspective in 2025 and where they can improve in 2026.
Green Bay Packers 2026 Penalty Outlook: Discipline, Flags & Hidden Edges
The Good
- The Packers ranked 26th in penalties per game in home contests, recording the second-biggest home versus road penalty discrepancy in 2025, behind only the Kansas City Chiefs.
- The Packers offense accounted for 43% of the team's overall penalties, which is really in that sweet spot when we factor in everything from a penalty perspective.
- The Packers ranked as one of the least penalized offenses on third-down plays in 2025.
- The Packers were efficient from a penalty perspective in the first quarter of games, recording a net positive advantage versus opponents. However, the tables turned in the following three quarters, when Green Bay ran a penalty deficit.
The Bad
- A disproportionate 61% of Packers false start and offensive holding infractions occurred on the road.
- The Packers were the No. 1 beneficiary of automatic first downs via penalties on third down in 2024, but that advantage declined significantly in 2025.
- The defense ranked as the No. 1 most penalized unit in the fourth quarter of games.
- The defense tied for No. 1 in surrendering automatic first downs via penalty in the fourth quarter of contests.
- A disproportionate 58% of overall penalties in Green Bay contests were assessed on the Packers versus just 42% on their opponents in the second half of games last season.
Grade: B-
The hype around Green Bay was at fever pitch through two games of the 2025 season.
Irrational exuberance was quickly met with a reality check via a loss at the Cleveland Browns the following week.
The Packers limped into the playoffs off four consecutive losses, ultimately losing in dramatic fashion after discipline and focus issues contributed to surrendering a huge lead to the Bears.
Can the Packers get over the hump during the 2026 season?
Green Bay possesses the talent to beat anyone on its day, but is also inconsistent enough to undermine any possibility of putting together an extended postseason run.
The inconsistency that has plagued this team has to be a thing of the past if they intend to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender in 2026.
This analysis continues in the 2026 Football Preview
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Warren Sharp’s 600+ page full-color PDF, the 2026 Football Preview, is unlike anything you have read. Stunning visualizations, including new heat maps and stat pages, are built with the reader in mind. Innovative, next-level thought processes abound in every team chapter and article.
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- Penalty analysis for all 32 NFL teams
