Turnovers: way down. Penalties: way down. It’s going to be hard for the NFL to sell us on the need for a preseason after Week 1.
No preseason games, and yet the first weekend of action was as clean as a whistle.
Not that you heard that many whistles.
There were 199 total flags thrown in Week 1 games, according to ESPN Stats & Information, the second-lowest total in Week 1 since 2001.
One number that stands out: just 18 flags for offensive holding across the 16 games, a paltry 1.1 per game, for those keeping score.
For comparison, the first two weeks of the 2019 season saw 5.7 holding calls per game.
Another comparison point: there were 23 total turnovers committed in the 16 Week 1 games, for an average of 1.4 per game.
NFL games averaged 2.8 turnovers per game in 2019.
Great news for those who hate preseason games.
Story by Chris Graham
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