The Minnesota Vikings came out of Week 16 victorious against the New York Giants. It was a good result for Vikings fans, although it got a bit painful to watch at times.
Yes, the injuries to Jordan Mason, Ryan Kelly, and J.J. McCarthy didn’t help, but it was painful for another reason as well.
Vikings and Giants Game Full of Penalties
GettyEAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – DECEMBER 21: Russell Wilson #3 of the New York Giants and head coach Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings talk after Minnesota’s 16-13 victory at MetLife Stadium on December 21, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
There were a total of 22 total penalties between the two teams on Sunday. The teams split these penalties down the middle, each committing 11. The Vikings’ penalty yardage cost them 90 total yards, while the Giants’ infractions cost them 74.
Going into the contest, the Vikings had committed a total of 95 penalties in all of 2025. That averages out to 6.8 penalties per game. In the contest against the G-Men, they obviously almost doubled this average.
A large chunk of their penalties came in another game as well. In Week 10 at home against the Baltimore Ravens , the Vikings committed 13 total penalties for 102 total yards. These 13 infractions consisted of a mind-boggling 8 false starts. They also had a 10-penalty game in Week 13 in their 26-0 trouncing courtesy of the Seattle Seahawks .
Today was not even their first 13-penalty game. It was their second of the season, with their first coming ironically in their 48-10 handling of the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3 with Carson Wentz at the helm.
Against the Giants, 4 penalties were assessed to the offense, 5 to the defense, and 2 to the special teams unit.
Ex-Pro Bowl LB Anthony Barr Sounds Off on NFL Officiating
GettyMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – DECEMBER 26: Anthony Barr #55 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates after intercepting a pass by Matthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams (not in photo) in the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 26, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Ex-Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr was not much of a fan of the frequent showing of an NFL referee on the broadcast.
He took to his personal X account to blow off some steam (and probably say what a lot of us were thinking as well):
” @NFL almost an unwatchable product. Everything is a penalty.. just bad”
“so qb ducks into the tackle and it’s a penalty on the defense… what happened to the game i love”
This isn’t the first time for the former first-round draft pick to Minnesota in 2014 has made his thoughts known about the league’s officiating.
He also fire off a couple of tweets during the Week 15 Falcons and Buccaneers Thursday Night Football showdown:
“NFL refs making games impossible to watch.. what is the solution though?”
“This is out of control [laughing emoji] What’s record for most flags thrown in a game?“
Clearly, the former NFL defender is not a fan of the NFL’s officiating crews. It’s comforting to know that players that have played the game shares the same opinion as the game’s fans.
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