RENTON, Wash. -- The NFL admitted to missing three key calls in the Seattle Seahawks' 25-20 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 8, cornerback Richard Sherman said.

Two were pick plays: a 2-yard touchdown to Brandin Cooks and a 20-yard completion on third down in the fourth quarter. Per Sherman, the league told the Seahawks those both should have been offensive pass interference.

The third was a holding call against cornerback DeShawn Shead on a third down in the third quarter.

"They’re going to come back and apologize the next day," Sherman said. "We probably lead the league in NFL apologies the next day. ‘Oh, that was a pick route. That was a pick route. It should have been called. It should have been called. Yeah, it might have cost you the game, but so what?' It’s too late now."

During the loss, the Seahawks were whistled for 11 penalties, while the Saints were flagged twice. A penalty margin of nine or more has occurred in just 2.4 percent of all games since 2012, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.

Sherman suggested that the NFL targets the Seahawks specifically to keep games close.

"We probably lead the league in NFL apologies the next day," Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said. Chuck Cook/USA TODAY Sports

"The numbers speak for themselves," Sherman said. "They’ve always spoken for themselves. And I heard you ask Pete [Carroll], is it just our aggressive style of play? But we’re always at the bottom of the league in defensive holding or illegal contact or PI. We’re usually one of the least penalized in that regard, but we’re still one of the highest-penalized teams, and our opponents aren’t penalized at all.

"So it’s just funny. You just go out there and keep playing. I’m sure it’s some way the league has of evening out everything. We have a really good team, so I guess you’ve got to do something."

Clearly, the Seahawks are aware of the numbers. Since the start of 2013, they've been called for 128 more penalties than their opponents, the highest margin in the league. No other team is higher than plus-93, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

During that span, the Seahawks' opponents have been called for 302 penalties, the fewest of any team. The Seahawks have been called for 430, third-most.

Carroll was asked about the discrepancy and whether it's due to the Seahawks' aggressive, physical style of play.

"All I can tell you is it’s happened in years past," Carroll said. "Our style of play has always kind of left us in some situations where we’re talking about the same topic. There’s some things about it that I would never change. I’m never going to back off of what we expect our guys to do in terms of their effort and toughness and the finish on plays. We just have to overcome that factor because I think that’s what makes us who we are also. We just have to deal with it."

Sherman had a suggestion for making the rules easier to comprehend.

"Make the rulebook a lot less extensive," he said. "You’ve got a bunch of freaking rocket scientists writing rules, I guess, for a simple game."

Asked if he's surprised that he wasn't fined for his comments on the officiating last week, Sherman said, "Not really. Sometimes the truth is the truth is the truth."

He also addressed whether his criticism of the officiating could be a reason the Seahawks don't get some of the borderline calls.

"I don’t know. Maybe," Sherman said. "Perhaps. I don’t know. Cheating is cheating. So if there is bias, then it’s quite the deal, quite petty."

And finally, ahead of the Week 9 visit from the Buffalo Bills, Sherman was asked what the key is to the Seahawks' success in Monday night games.

"I have no idea," he said. "Maybe because they don’t want the refs to control the games in those games.

"Too many people watching in prime time, they can’t make it look that obvious."