‘Unacceptable’ penalty bug infects Texans in loss to Vikings, linemen say officials ‘making an example out of us’

MINNEAPOLIS – Yellow flags flew through the air. Whistles kept blowing. And multiple infractions were announced, halting the flow of play Sunday afternoon.

During the Texans’ 34-7 road loss to the Minnesota Vikings, a penalty bug infected the defending AFC South champions. Eleven penalties, were enforced for 88 yards by referee Shawn Hochuli and his officiating crew, including eight infractions on offense and seven for false starts or illegal formations.

And the Texans have now been flagged 28 times for 233 yards through three games, a staggering amount for a talented team with playoff ambitions.

It was a rough day for the offensive line in particular as quarterback C.J. Stroud was sacked five times, including three times by former Texans defensive end Jonathan Greenard.

In the second quarter, one head-scratching sequence unfolded with three consecutive false starts by right tackle Tytus Howard, center Juice Scruggs and Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil followed by an illegal formation flag on Tunsil on an incomplete pass on third down that was declined. It killed a scoring opportunity and punter Tommy Townsend was sent into the game with the Texans trailing 14-0.

“We didn’t do anything to help ourselves,” said Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, whose team had a dozen penalties last week in a narrow win over the Chicago Bears. “Way too many penalties, again. That starts with me. Unacceptable. You can’t win that way. When we have something positive going, we negate it by the penalties. That just zaps the energy out of everyone.”

The penalties defined the day on offense for the Texans’ sputtering offense, ruining any continuity for drives. Tunsil was flagged for three false starts and two illegal formation penalties with one illegal formation declined.

Standing at his locker after the game, Tunsil, who was flagged for three false starts and two illegal formations with one declined, said there’s a disconnect in how the games are being officiated with a lot of inconsistency.

“They’re trying to make an example out of us,” Tunsil told KPRC 2. “The first two weeks, we lined up the same way with no problems and the refs told us we were we good. We get here and lined up the same way and now it’s a problem. When it becomes a problem, they try to make an example out of us.

“When they told me to move up, I moved up. I feel like they are making an example out of us because somebody told them to make an example out of us. Look at their offensive linemen, they were lined up in the backfield, too. They’ve got to call it the same both sides.”

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What about the proliferation of false starts? Tunsil said it’s more complicated than people realize.

“Listen, false starts, I want people to understand that, the whole entire offense, it’s all of us,” Tunsil said. “We all have to be on the same accord and be on the same communication. It’s crazy. I’ll take the accountability because they’re calling my name, but it takes all of us. If people don’t understand that, it’s cool, though.”

Hochuli and his crew made it a point of emphasis to call illegal formation penalties during the season-opening win for the Kansas City Chiefs over the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens were hit with three illegal formations on their opening drive, much to the chagrin of coach John Harbaugh.

Howard emphasized the inconsistency of the calls and the lack of clear communication with the officials. The Texans were not flagged for illegal formation the first two weeks. Now, they’re being penalized. During Sunday’s defeat, the Texans had four illegal formation penalties.

The Texans kept getting flagged for not lining up close enough to the line of scrimmage. According to the official NFL rule book, tackles have to have the crown of their helmet by the center’s midsection.

“The penalties are a killer,” Howard told KPRC 2. “Being honest, I feel like the refs got to work with us a little bit. It’s become a certain thing where the linemen that’s new for everyone. They’ve got to work with us on that. Communication. It’s too inconsistent. Sometimes, you’re up far enough. Sometimes, you’re not. We just go to, as a team, as tackles, we’ve got to hone in on it and line up where they want us to line up. It’s very fixable. I’m not discouraged. We got to fix the little things and we’ll be straight.”

The ultra-loud environment at U.S. Bank Stadium was also a factor.

“Minnesota has a great crowd,” Ryans said. “Everyone knows it’s one of the loudest places in the league to play. You know that going in. So, that’s not an excuse. You have to lock in and be on the details of your job.”

And all of the third-and-long distance kept the Texans behind the chains and unable to sustain drives. Plus, Stroud was intercepted twice.

“You can’t live on third-and-long, especially against a defense like theirs,” Stroud said. “You have to give yourself a chance. You keep shooting yourself in the foot and moving backwards and backwards and backwards.”

Scruggs, in his first season as the Texans’ starting center, said he was flagged for moving his helmet too much before the snap.

“From my understanding, they’re saying the tackles are too deep in the backfield,” Scruggs said. “I agree with Tytus. It’s inconsistent. We lined up the same last week. We don’t know what the problem is.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.