Data suggest flags likely to be flying Sunday in Vikings-Jaguars game

Data suggest flags likely to be flying Sunday in Vikings-Jaguars game

November 6, 2024

Adrian Hill and his crew of zebras will be officiating Sunday’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars, and that means there’s a good chance yellow flags will be flying.

Hill’s crew of officials features a mix of veterans and younger officials. Hill, the head referee, has been officiating NFL games for 15 years. Umpire Roy Ellison and back judge Greg Steed each have 22 years of experience, while line judge Greg Bradley has been in the NFL for 16 seasons.

The crew has been together for eight games this season and they’ve called 123 penalties for an average of 15.38 penalties per game — good for the fourth-highest rate this season. The average game with this crew has featured 126 yards of penalty yardage.

For context, the league average this season is 13 penalties and about 105 penalty yards per game.

Jacksonville ranks 14th in penalties against and the Vikings are 18th, so they’re both middle of the pack. On a per-game average, the Vikings are flagged about seven times a game and the Jags are flagged six times per contest.

The home team has won just three of eight games with this officiating crew this season, which bodes well for the Vikings as the road team this week.