NFL officials are flag-happy in Patriots vs. Texans to the detriment of New England

As if the Patriots defense was flying flags on Sunday like it was actually their goal, the phantom calls could be even worse. It gave the Texans multiple opportunities to extend their drives, especially on third down.

But New England's offense also fell victim to a head-scratching offense, which didn't help their chances at all in Week 6.

Marte Mapu's defensive pass interference on a touchdown drive made no sense since Dalton Schultz wasn't even the intended receiver and the safety was within the allotted five yards.

Then Vederian Lowe was flagged as an ineligible man downfield when he was actually where he was supposed to be on offense, further pushing Drake Maye and the offense back on the rookie's second drive.

This resulted in the Patriots receiving a total of six penalties in the first half alone and with plenty of time left until the end of the second quarter.

If they keep this up for the rest of the game, it's a recipe for disaster. It's clear that they don't get the benefit of the doubt from the referees, and while it's not desirable to blame the referees, they don't seem to be working fairly. The Patriots can't make the situation worse by continuing to defer to avoidable mistakes.

UPDATE:

The Patriots received just their seventh penalty of the day after a great punt return by Marcus Jones, putting them back even further for Maye's third series five minutes before halftime.

They suffered 12 penalties against the Dolphins last week and appear to be on track to match or exceed that against the Texans.

In addition to the officials' enthusiasm for flags, the lack of discipline among the coaching staff and squad is also cause for concern. Many of these flags are avoidable, careless mistakes that would never have happened under Bill Belichick.

Something has to change, and quickly, because that's not how you play football.

UPDATE:

The referees are happy with the flag except when they should be.

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