One Browns Unit Is The Most Penalized In The League

There has been a lot to like about how the first five games of this Cleveland Browns season has gone. They have a huge opportunity against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday to keep that momentum rolling and get back on the horse after last week’s disappointing loss at the New York Jets.

Of course, there is always room for improvement and this team still has work to do to prove that the 3-2 start wasn’t a fluke. One area that needs improvement is discipline as the Browns lead the league with 49 penalties.

The Athletic’s Zac Jackson shed a little more light on that issue and broke it down even further. He noted that while the penalties on offense and special teams aren’t great, the 17 penalties on the defense are the most in the NFL.

“The division of the Browns’ league-high 49 accepted penalties, per @TruMediaSports
23 offense 17 defense (most in the league) 9 special teams (t-third most) 7 of the 9 special teams penalties have been in the return game,” Jackson said.

The division of the Browns' league-high 49 accepted penalties, per @TruMediaSports

23 offense
17 defense (most in the league)
9 special teams (t-third most)

7 of the 9 special teams penalties have been in the return game

— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) October 16, 2026

The positive thing is that the Browns only committed six penalties last week, which tied for the fewest all year. It was a substantial improvement from the ghastly 14 penalties in Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which included eight on defense.

It’s impressive that the Browns have gotten to 3-2 despite all these penalties, and it makes you wonder how good they can be if they can get this cleaned up. Another thing they have working for them on Sunday is that the Ravens haven’t exactly been the most disciplined team either. They’re right behind the Browns with 44 penalties of their own.

The Browns averaging nearly ten penalties a game isn’t a sustainable method to winning games. The Browns have overcome it so far, but this is undoubtedly an area of focus for Monken and company during film review this week. It got better last week, but it would be nice to have a game with just two or three penalties for once.