Was Officiating vs. Saints actually a problem for Bucs?

This is a serious question.

Yes, the OPI on Evans was stupid. Bad call, no question.

But Evans actually leads the league in generating defensive PIs. Which means refs are throwing flags that help the Bucs. So its not like the refs are picking on him.

The real data is in the stats:

Saints penalties: 9-76
Bucs: 7-55

On top of which, 5 of the Bucs penalties gave the Bucs O a first down (0 for the Saints).

So while we all saw a couple bad calls (and officiating is a problem across the NFL), didn't the refs do more to help the Bucs than hurt?

Giving the Bucs 5 penalties via first downs is a big deal.