Next time you are in the post office, check to see how many mug shots of Browns players are thumbtacked to the bulletin board. Their crime — committing penalties. The Browns are the most penalized team in the NFL two weeks into the season. They have been flagged 24 times, not including penalties that were declined. They were called for 11 penalties in the season-opening loss to the Cowboys and 13 times in the 18-13 win over the Jaguars — seven of them in the fourth quarter. The Steelers are second with 19 penalties. “We have to play clean with our technique,” Coach Kevin Stefanski said before practice Sept. 18 in preparation for the game with the Giants on Sept. 22 at Huntington Bank Field. “We have to be way, way, way better pre-snap. “There is a difference between pre-snap penalties and post-snap penalties, obviously. The pre-snap penalties should be easily correctable.” Right tackle Dawand Jones has been called a false start twice. Defensive end Myles Garrett has drawn two flags for being offsides. Alex Wright and Maurice Hurst were each called for offsides once. The Browns were penalized for illegal formation twice against the Cowboys. Amari Cooper was guilty of an illegal shift in the Dallas game. Elijah Moore and Jerry Jeudy were each called for an illegal shift in Jacksonville. All are pre-snap penalties. Deshaun Watson talks about the need for the #Browns to start quickly, why he and Amari Cooper aren't connecting and how penalties are stifling the offense. pic.twitter.com/CPGWPJWau9 — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) September 18, 2024 Only four penalties were called on the Browns in the first half of the Jacksonville game. One was on kicker Dustin Hopkins for crossing the 50 on a kickoff before the ball hit in the landing zone or was touched by a Jaguars player. The Jaguars fumbled the kickoff. Browns defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo recovered the ball at the Jacksonville 24. Hopkins’ gaffe had nothing to do with how the play unfolded, but since he broke the rules, he had to rekick from the 30 after a five-yard penalty. The rekick resulted in a touchback, giving the Jags the ball at the Jacksonville 30. The Jaguars drove to the Browns’ 2 and kicked a field goal. “He knows the rule. He just made a mistake,” Stefanski said. “That was really disappointing. That’s a game-changing play.” Pre-snap penalties and holding penalties on offense limit what plays Stefanski can call. That makes things doubly tough on Deshaun Watson if he isn’t getting great protection. “That’s definitely not in the game plan,” Watson said before practice. “We have to correct those. We have to lock in a little more on the details of the operation. It starts with that. It’s definitely a point of emphasis for this game.” James Hudson, Joel Bitonio, David Njoku and Teller have each been called for holding once. Ethan Pocic has been flagged for holding twice — a classic case of a center being anonymous until he is called for a penalty. “I have to raise my own awareness,” Pocic said Sept. 18 in the locker room. “You want to be finishing guys, but you don’t want to put your team in a costly spot from finishing. It’s knowing when to let go.” The Browns are unlikely to average a dozen penalties a game, but causing their own problems with undisciplined mistakes is not unique to 2024. The Browns were tied with the Cowboys for the second-most penalized team in 2023 (115, behind only the Jets with 124). They were 11th in 2022 with 102 penalties and seventh in 2021 with 112. They were eighth with 100 penalties in 2020. Giants at Browns When: 1 p.m. Sept. 22 Where: Huntington Bank Field Records: Giants 0-2, Browns 1-1 TV: WJW Radio: Radio: WKRK-FM 92.3, WNCX-FM 98.5, WKNR-AM 850, WKKY-FM 104.7