nfl officials assignments week 15

NCAA and NFL Referee news

Thursday, Dec. 17

• Chargers at Raiders  —  John Hussey

Saturday, Dec. 19

• Bills at Broncos  —  Clete Blakeman
• Panthers at Packers  —  Alex Kemp

Sunday, Dec. 20

• Lions at Titans  —  Jerome Boger
• 49ers at Cowboys  —  Land Clark
• Texans at Colts  —  Bill Vinovich
• Buccaneers at Falcons  —  Brad Rogers
• Patriots at Dolphins  —  Brad Allen
• Bears at Vikings  —  Shawn Smith
• Seahawks at Washington  —  Adrian Hill
• Jaguars at Ravens  —  Carl Cheffers
• Eagles at Cardinals  —  Craig Wrolstad
• Jets at Rams  —  Tony Corrente
• Chiefs at Saints  —  Scott Novak
• Browns at Giants  —  Shawn Hochuli

Monday, Dec. 21

• Steelers at Bengals  —  Clay Martin

NFL officiating crews for Week 15 games and which teams could benefit the most

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NFL officiating crews often play a large part in determining which teams win or lose each week. As on-the-field arbiters of the league’s rulebook, officials have the power to destroy an offense’s momentum, or hurt a defense’s chance of preventing a team from advancing within range of a game-winning field-goal attempt. All with the toss of a yellow flag.

There are 17 NFL officiating crews, and they are assigned to games each week, depending on how many games are played. With no more bye weeks, Week 15 will feature 16 games; Alex Kemp’s crew has the week off. In the Broncos-Lions game Saturday night, John Hussey will be officiating his 350th NFL game.

Below are Week 15 assignments for the NFL officiating crews, along with a detailed look at which teams might be helped or hurt by who will be calling penalties at their game this week.

Los Angeles Chargers (5-8) at Las Vegas Raiders (5-8), 8:15 p.m. ET

Head official: Ron Torbert

Torbert’s crew: 2023 stats

• Games officiated: 13
• Penalties: 13.5 called/game (1st out of 17)
• Home team win %: 76.9 (21.6 above norm)
• % of penalties called on home team: 50.9 (7th out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: False start (3.9 calls/game)
• Most penalized position group: Offensive line (5.0 calls/game)

Who benefits the most?

Las Vegas Raiders . While Torbert’s crew throws more flags than any crew in the league, the home team ends up winning most of the time, and the Raiders are the least penalized team in the league. Torbert’s crew is the league leader in false start calls.

Minnesota Vikings (7-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (7-6), 1 p.m. ET

Head official: Bill Vinovich

Vinovich’s crew: 2023 stats

• Games officiated: 12
• Penalties: 11.9 called/game (out of 17)
• Home team win %: 41.7 (13.62 below norm)
• % of penalties called on home team: 53.1 (3rd out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: False start (2.4 calls/game)
• Most penalized position group: Offensive line (3.4 calls/game)

Cincinnati Bengals . Vinovich’s crew appears to favor the home team in terms of the flags thrown, and the Vikings’ offensive line in particular will be susceptible on the road.

Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) at Indianapolis Colts (7-6), 4:30 p.m. ET

Head official: Adrian Hill

Hill’s crew: 2023 stats

• Penalties: 12.33 called/game (tied 8th out of 17)
• Home team win %: 58.33 (3.04 above norm)
• % of penalties called on home team: 42.6 (17th out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: False start (2.58 calls/game)
• Most penalized position group: Offensive line (3.33 calls/game)

Indianapolis Colts . In terms of penalties, Hill’s crew is the most home-friendly in the league, even if the home win percentage doesn’t quite show it.

Denver Broncos (7-6) at Detroit Lions (9-4), 8:15 p.m. ET

Head official: John Hussey

Hussey’s crew: 2023 stats

• Penalties: 13.92 called/game (1st out of 17)
• Home team win %: 75.0 (19.71 above norm)
• % of penalties called on home team: 44.9 (15th out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: False start (3.83 calls/game)
• Most penalized position group: Defensive back (2.58 calls/game)

Detroit Lions . Hussey’s crew tosses the most flags of all the NFL officiating crews and skews toward the home team more than most. The Lions, however, have been dinged 10 times for defensive pass interference, so that bears watching.

Atlanta Falcons (6-7) at Carolina Panthers (1-12), 1 p.m. ET

Head official: Land Clark

Clark’s crew: 2023 stats

• Penalties: 13.0 called/game (3rd out of 17)
• Home team win %: 25.0 (30.29 below norm)
• % of penalties called on home team: 45.3 (13th out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: Offensive holding (2.92 calls/game)
• Most penalized position group: Defensive back (4.33 calls/game)

Atlanta Falcons . Clark’s crew throws the third-most flags overall among NFL officiating crews, ranks third in offensive holding calls, and is slightly friendlier toward road teams.

Chicago Bears (5-8) at Cleveland Browns (8-5), 1 p.m. ET

Head official: Brad Allen

Allen’s crew: 2023 stats

• Games officiated: 11
• Penalties: 10.83 called/game (16th out of 17)
• Home team win %: 45.45 (9.84 below norm)
• % of penalties called on home team: 46.2 (12th out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: Offensive holding (2.3 calls/game)
• Most penalized position group: Defensive back (3.2 calls/game)

Cleveland Browns . This is nearly a push, but Allen’s crew is kinder to home teams than most of the NFL officiating crews, and the Bears’ offensive line is among the most penalized position groups in the league.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-7) at Green Bay Packers (6-7), 1 p.m. ET

Head official: Tra Blake

Blake’s crew: 2023 stats

• Penalties: 12.75 called/game (5th out of 17)
• Home team win %: 50.0 (5.29 below norm)
• % of penalties called on home team: 51.0 (6th out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: False start (2.7 calls/game)
• Most penalized position group: Offensive line (4.0 calls/game)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers . None of the NFL officiating crews throws more defensive pass interference calls than Blake’s does, making the Packers more vulnerable, since their DBs are the team’s most penalized group.

Houston Texans (7-6) at Tennessee Titans (5-8), 1 p.m. ET

Head official: Clete Blakeman

Blakeman’s crew: 2023 stats

• Penalties: 11.3 called/game (12th out of 17)
• Home team win %: 75.0 (19.7 above norm)
• % of penalties called on home team: 47.4 (11th out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: False start (2.0 calls/game)

Tennessee Titans . The Texans lead the league in flags for defensive pass interference calls, and Blakeman’s crew ranks third in that category among the NFL officiating crews.

New York Jets (5-8) at Miami Dolphins (9-4), 1 p.m. ET

Head official: Brad Rogers

Rogers’ crew: 2023 stats

• Penalties: 12.6 called/game (6th out of 17)
• % of penalties called on home team: 48.8 (9th out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: Offensive holding (3.2 calls/game)
• Most penalized position group: Offensive line (3.5 calls/game)

Miami Dolphins . Just looking at the home-road splits shows this to be a favorable matchup for the Dolphins, even though Rogers’ crew ranks first among the NFL officiating crews in terms of offensive holding calls.

Kansas City Chiefs (8-5) at New England Patriots (3-10), 1 p.m. ET

Head official: Shawn Hochuli

Hochuli’s crew: 2023 stats

• Penalties: 12.3 called/game (9th out of 17)
• Home team win %: 66.7 (11.38 above norm)
• % of penalties called on home team: 44.6 (15th out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: Offensive holding (2.6 calls/game)

New England Patriots. The Patriots might get some officiating help due to Hochuli’s crew being more home-friendly and the Chiefs ranking No. 1 in offensive holding calls.

New York Giants (5-8) at New Orleans Saints (6-7), 1 p.m. ET

Head official: Carl Cheffers

Cheffers’ crew: 2023 stats

• Penalties: 11.6 called/game (11th out of 17)
• Home team win %: 50.0 (5.3 below norm)
• % of penalties called on home team: 49.6 (8th out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: False start (2.3 calls/game)
• Most penalized position group: Offensive line (2.8 calls/game)

New Orleans Saints . Cheffers’ crew, which made the offsides call against the Chiefs’ Kadarius Toney last Sunday, might be the most neutral among the 17 NFL officiating crews. But its tendency to ding offensive lines favors the Saints, who tend to get flagged much less at home anyway.

Washington Commanders (4-9) at Los Angeles Rams (6-7), 4:05 p.m. ET

Head official: Alan Eck

Eck’s crew: 2023 stats

• Penalties: 11.0 called/game (15th out of 17)
• % of penalties called on home team: 48.5 (10th out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: False start (1.8 calls/game)

Los Angeles Rams . Almost a push. Along with skewing toward the home team, Eck’s crew throws the second-least number of flags for defensive pass interference and is among the most defensive-friendly overall of the 17 NFL officiating crews.

San Francisco 49ers (10-3) at Arizona Cardinals (3-10), 4:05 p.m. ET

Head official: Scott Novak

Novak’s crew: 2023 stats

• Penalties: 11.0 called/game (14th out of 17)
• Home team win %: 61.5 (6.2 above norm)
• % of penalties called on home team: 51.0 (5th out of 17)
• Most penalized position group: Offensive line (3.2 calls/game)

San Francisco 49ers . The Cardinals draw the third-most offensive holding calls, and that’s what Novak’s crew calls more often than most.

Dallas Cowboys (10-3) at Buffalo Bills (7-6), 4:25 p.m. ET

Head official: Craig Wrolstad

Wrolstad’s crew: 2023 stats

• Penalties: 11.1 called/game (13th out of 17)
• % of penalties called on home team: 54.1 (2nd out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: Offensive holding (2.1 calls/game)
• Most penalized position group: Defensive back (2.9 calls/game)

Buffalo Bills . The Cowboys are the most penalized team in the league, so they will rarely gain an advantage from the officiating. It could be a long day for Dallas’ defensive backs.

Baltimore Ravens (10-3) at Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5), 8:20 p.m. ET

Head official: Shawn Smith

Smith’s crew: 2023 stats

• Penalties: 12.4 called/game (7th out of 17)
• Home team win %: 16.7 (38.6 below norm)
• % of penalties called on home team: 53.0 (4th out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: Offensive holding & false start (1.8 calls/game)
• Most penalized position group: Offensive line (3.3 calls/game)

Baltimore Ravens . Of all the NFL officiating crews, Smith’s crew heavily skews toward the road team, and the Jaguars rank fourth in false start calls.

Philadelphia Eagles (10-3) at Seattle Seahawks (6-7), 8:15 p.m. ET

Head official: Clay Martin

Martin’s crew: 2023 stats

• Penalties: 10.6 called/game (17th out of 17)
• Home team win %: 41.7 (13.7 below norm)
• % of penalties called on home team: 55.1 (1st out of 17)
• Most common penalty called: Offensive holding (2.8 calls/game)
• Most penalized position group: Offensive line (3.1 calls/game)

Philadelphia Eagles . The Seahawks rank second in terms of penalties called, and Martin’s crew likes to throw flags at offensive linemen, especially for offensive holding.

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NFL Week 15 announcer assignments

Here’s the full list of NFL announcing crew assignments for the league’s Week 15 slate:

Minnesota Vikings at Cincinnati Bengals , Dec. 16, NFL Network, 1 p.m.

Announcers: Chris Rose, Jason McCourty , Steve Wyche

Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts , Dec. 16,, NFL Network, 4:30 p.m.

Announcers: Rich Eisen, Kurt Warner, Jamie Erdahl

Denver Broncos at Detroit Lions , Dec. 16, NFL Network, 8:15 p.m.

Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, Melanie Collins

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins , Dec. 17, CBS, 1 p.m.

Announcers: Jim Nantz, Tony Romo , Tracy Wolfson

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Green Bay Packers , Dec. 17, CBS, 1 p.m.

Announcers: Andrew Catalon, Tiki Barner, Matt Ryan , AJ Ross

Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans , Dec. 17, CBS, 1 p.m.

Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta, Aditi Kinkhabwala

New York Giants at New Orleans Saints , Dec. 17, FOX, 1 p.m.

Announcers: Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, Shannon Spake

Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots , Dec. 17, FOX, 1 p.m.

Announcers: Joe Davis, Daryl Johnston, Pam Oliver

Chicago Bears at Cleveland Browns , Dec. 17, FOX, 1 p.m.

Announcers: Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez , Laura Okmin

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers , Dec. 17, FOX, 1 p.m.

Announcers: Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth, Kristina Pink

San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals , Dec. 17, CBS, 4:05 p.m.

Announcers: Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, Evan Washburn

Washington Commanders at Los Angeles Chargers , Dec. 17, CBS, 4:05 p.m.

Announcers: Tom McCarthy, James Lofton, Jay Feely , Tiffany Blackmon

Dallas Cowboys at Buffalo Bills , Dec. 17, FOX, 4:25 p.m.

Announcers: Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen , Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi

Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars , Dec. 17, NBC, 8:20 p.m.

Announcers: Mike Tirico, Chris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark

Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks , Dec. 18, ESPN, 8:15 p.m.

Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters

Story originally appeared on Bills Wire

NFL Referee Assignment for Super Bowl 58 & Impact on NFL Betting

We tend to only focus on NFL referees after a controversial decision or bad no-call. Yet each head NFL referee and his respective crew interprets the game differently.

Gaining insight into the way a game will be officiated can have immense value in the betting market.

A referee who calls more penalties for defensive holding and roughing the passer has a far different impact on game flow than a ref who focuses more on offensive holding and false starts.

Referee style one week may hide a team’s weakness (defensive backs), but a different official who leans heavily on calling pass interference will compound that weakness the next week.

Same team. Different outcomes.

Throughout this 2023 NFL season, we’ll help to identify important trends and tendencies by different NFL referees to help you gain an edge when placing a bet .

Sharp Football Analysis has every angle of Chiefs vs. 49ers covered in our Super Bowl 58 Hub .

NFL Referee Assignment for Super Bowl 58

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• Final 11 weeks in NFL: 58-32 (64%)
• Final 2023 Profits: $100 Bettors finished up $8,148
• Final 2023 Elevated Plays Record: 102-64 (61%)
• Final 2023 1+ Unit Plays Record: 27-11 (71%)
• Final 2023 NFL Regular Season: 83-56 (59%)
• Final 2023 NFL Computer Totals: 38-23 (62%)
• Final 2023 NCAAF Bowls: 9-1 (90%)

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Bill Vinovich’s Impact on Chiefs vs. 49ers in Super Bowl 58

The Chiefs and 49ers meet in Super Bowl 58. The game will officiated by Bill Vinovich, his third Super Bowl as a head referee.

Bill Vnovich was in charge of proceedings in the Chiefs’ 31-20 victory over the 49ers in Super Bowl 54 to conclude the 2019 NFL season. This game marks the first time the same referee has officiated a Super Bowl rematch.

Vinovich is the epitome of a “let ‘em play” referee, especially in postseason games.

We have detailed the decline in offensive holding penalties throughout these playoffs versus regular season averages. Expect that to continue in Super Bowl 58.

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa brought the issue to the media’s and hopefully the officiating crew’s attention in the lead-up to the big game.

The Chiefs have been the number one beneficiary of the reduction in offensive holding in the playoffs. It would be an ideal scenario for the 49ers to see more offensive holding calls in Super Bowl 58, but that is unlikely.

The all-star officiating crew is a topic of conversation when assessing the Super Bowl. How can we preview a game if the referee in charge doesn’t have the entirety of his regular season crew on the field?

It’s a valid point, and we did an in-depth look at this last week.

If there is one surefire playoff trend, regardless of the crew makeup and the head referee, it’s the emphasis on reducing overall penalties.

Look for the Vinovich-led crew in Super Bowl 58 to follow that script.

Now, let’s assess the strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the Super Bowl from a penalty perspective and how the officiating of the Bill Vinovich-led crew will potentially impact these games

Penalty Tendencies:

• Since Bill Vinovich’s first Super Bowl as a head referee between the Patriots and Seahawks in 2015, his games are averaging 9.5 penalties for 78.4 yards. Keep these numbers in mind for any penalty props that may be available for this Super Bowl
• The Chiefs overall offense and offensive line issues were well-documented throughout the 2023 season. The penalty issues for the Kansas City offense have seen a sharp decline in their playoff run
• The Chiefs averaged 5.3 penalties per game in the 2023 regular season, with 63% committed by their offense. That averages out to around 3.5 offensive penalties per game
• The Chiefs are averaging just 2.6 penalties per game on their current playoff run, with the offense responsible for 70% of penalties. That amounts to around 1.8 offensive penalties per game, a significant drop from the regular season average. Since the drop in offensive penalties is primarily via offensive holding, it’s a huge boon to a Kansas City offense that struggled at times in 2023
• The decline in offensive holding is standard operating procedure every season in the playoffs. The NFL wants an aesthetically pleasing product in highly viewed postseason games. It just so happens Kansas City is the biggest beneficiary of this in 2023
• The 49ers offense is responsible for just 46% of the team’s overall penalties in 2023, with their offensive line responsible for just 24% of the team’s overall penalties
• The 49ers were a below-average penalized team for offensive holding in 2023
• In their Super Bowl 54 matchup in 2020, there was one offensive holding penalty called by Vinovich’s crew. More notable in that game were the non-calls, particularly in situations involving the aforementioned Nick Bosa 
• The 49ers and Chiefs defensive units are the two least impactful at generating offensive holding penalties on the opposing offenses in 2023, ranking 31st and 32nd respectively. In their five combined playoff games in the 2023-24 playoffs, these defenses have generated one accepted offensive holding penalty and have had one additional call declined
• Vinovich ranks second for false start penalties per game
• The 49ers and Chiefs share a common trait in penalties surrendered via passing plays. Defensive pass interference makes up the bulk of penalties surrendered in this category, with 61% of the Chiefs’ infractions and 58% of the 49ers’
• The back judge in Super Bowl 58 is from the Land Clark crew. One of the more controversial no-calls in 2023 came in Chiefs at Vikings in Week 5. It was a late-game defensive pass interference by L’Jarius Sneed on Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison . The flag was thrown by the side judge but picked up after a discussion with the back judge and head referee Land Clark.
• The 49ers and Chiefs offenses are top five beneficiaries of defensive holding infractions
• The Vinovich-led crew has members from the Clark, Shawn Hochuli, and Tra Blake crews. All three were above average calling defensive holding.
• Vinovich is co-ranked number one for illegal use of hands penalties and second overall for illegal block in the back penalties in 2023. These are two categories the Chiefs are highly penalized in versus league average. These infractions are more likely to get called in Super Bowl 58 with the Vinovich and Hochuli crews heavily represented in this game
• No referee has called fewer roughing the passer penalties than Vinovich since the start of the 2018 NFL season, averaging one approximately every seventh game officiated. This is far fewer than other referees over that same stretch. Across the board, the average is one roughing the passer penalty approximately every 2.5 games officiated. Keep these roughing the passer numbers in mind for penalty-specific prop bets in Super Bowl 58
• In playoff games, Vinovich-led crews have called just one roughing the passer penalty in 14 contests officiated since the 2012 season. The inclusion of two Hochuli crew members is the only cause for concern about roughing the passer, as they led the NFL in this category. However, at the end of the day, Vinovich runs this outfit and his numbers override everything else.
• Conversely, Vinovich-led crews in those 14 playoff games have called 13 unnecessary roughness penalties
• Pre-snap penalties are to be avoided at all costs. The Chiefs were one of the best in the NFL this season, ranking 30th overall. It’s worth noting, four of the five teams with the fewest pre-snap penalties in 2023 made the playoffs

Bottom Line:

• Vinovich-led crews are 60-39-2 (60%) to the under since the start of the 2018 NFL season, including 10-7 (60%) to the under in 2023
• In playoff games dating back to 2012, Vinovich is 9-8 to the under. The Chiefs’ 31-20 victory in Super Bowl 54 stayed under the closing total of 52.5 points. We are dealing with a far lower number in this contest
• A little-mentioned factor in the lead-up to this game is the new grass field surface at Allegiant Stadium. Last year’s surface in Arizona was a debacle, and it favored the offenses. From an in-game wagering perspective, the focus on offensive holding, or the probable lack thereof, is issue No. 1. The second piece to the puzzle is field conditions. Those two factors alone will impact the total as much as anything else

If the 49ers bring their “A” game, they can win Super Bowl 58. At their best, San Francisco looked near unbeatable in the 2023 season.

However, it’s been a while since we’ve seen that form, and frankly, they were fortunate to win their first two playoff games.

We thought the Ravens would be a tough out in the AFC Championship, but the moment proved to be too big for them.

The positive for the 49ers is that they have a loaded roster with high-IQ players who shouldn’t make the same discipline-related errors that contributed to the Ravens’ downfall. The team needs to play its best game from the get-go in Super Bowl 58.

Conversely, the Chiefs’ fast starts have had them largely control games during their playoff run. Its coaching staff and its core group of players provide them with an edge in this matchup. This is especially true at the quarterback position.

The bottom line is they won’t beat themselves, making the Kansas City Chiefs the play in this game and the winner of Super Bowl 58.

Bet 49ers vs. Chiefs Now!

Super Bowl 58 Referee Crew & Penalty Trend

Heading into the 2023 NFL playoffs, the three referees most likely to officiate the Super Bowl were Bill Vinovich, John Hussey, and Shawn Hochuli. It’s no surprise five of the seven Super Bowl officials are members are from these crews.

Two members apiece are from the Bill Vinovich and Shawn Hochuli crews.

The remaining three officials are from the John Hussey, Tra Blake, and Land Clark officiating crews.

These five crews represent 30% of all officiating crews in the NFL, which is a key number when detailing the following penalty categories.

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NFL Week 15 Referee Assignments + Betting Stats & Trends

The NFL season rolls into Week 15. We are down to the final four weeks of the season and plenty left to be desired. Here are the NFL Week 15 Referee Assignments and report. I will highlight a few betting stats and trends for this week’s NFL Week 15 Referee Report! Let’s dive right into it!

2021-2022 NFL Referee Stats

2022-2023 NFL Referee Betting Stats and Trends

Jerome Boger

Jerome Boger comes into this season favoring the home teams. In fact, this season, home teams are 8-4 (66.7%) straight up and 6-4-2 (58.3%) against the spread. Furthermore, home teams have won eight of the last nine games straight up in games officiated by Jerome Boger. Additionally, road teams have not scored more than 21 points over the last six weeks. This week, Boger is assigned to officiate the matchup between to Arizona Cardinals visiting the Denver Broncos.

Referee Likes: Broncos ML -125

Ron torbert.

Ron Torbert has been the Under train machine over the course of his officiating career. This season, Torbert is 8-4 (66.7%) to the Under with an average final score of 39.3 points per game. Dating back to last season, Unders in games officiated by Torbert are 19-9 (67.8%). The NFL Week 15 Referee Assignment draws Torbert and his crew to officiate the matchup between the New England Patriots and the Las Vegas Raiders. This season, the Patriots are 8-5 (61.5%) to the Under and 6-2 to the Under in conference games.

Referee Likes: Patriots/Raiders Under 44.5

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John Hussey

John Hussey has been heavily favoring the home teams over the last two seasons. In fact, home teams are 21-8 (72.4%) straight up and 18-10-1 (63.4%) against the spread. The NFL Week 15 Referee Assignment draws Hussey to officiate the Monday Night Football game between the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders.

Referee Likes: Commanders ML & -5

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Nfl announcers schedule revealed for week 15, share this article, san francisco 49ers at seattle seahawks, dec. 15, 8:15 p.m..

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Amazon Prime: Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and Kaylee Hartung

Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings, Dec. 17, 1 p.m. ET

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

NFL Network: Noah Eagle, Nate Burleson, Lindsay Czarniak, Tom Pelissero

Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns, Dec. 17, 4:30 p.m. ET

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

NFL Network:  Rich Eisen, Kurt Warner, Stacey Dales, Steve Wyche

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills, Dec. 17, 8:15 p.m. ET

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

NFL Network: Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez, Laura Okmin, Peter Schrager

Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints, Dec. 18, 1 p.m. ET

Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

FOX: Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth, Kristina Pink

Pittsburgh Steelers at Carolina Panthers, Dec. 18, 1 p.m. ET

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

CBS: Greg Gumbel, Adam Archuleta, AJ Ross

Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears, Dec. 18, 1 p.m. ET

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

FOX: Joe Davis, Daryl Johnston, Pam Oliver

Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans, Dec. 18, 1 p.m. ET

(Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)

CBS: Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, Melanie Collins

Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Dec. 18, 1 p.m. ET

Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports

FOX: Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi

Detroit Lions at New York Jets, Dec. 18, 1 p.m. ET

CBS: Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, Evan Washburn

Arizona Cardinals at Denver Broncos, Dec. 18, 4:05 p.m. ET

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

FOX: Chris Myers, Robert Smith, Jennifer Hale

New England Patriots at Las Vegas Raiders, Dec. 18, 4:05 p.m. ET

FOX: Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, Shannon Spake

Tennessee Titans at Los Angeles Chargers, Dec. 18, 4:25 p.m. ET

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

CBS: Andre Catalon, James Lofton, Amanda Renner

Cincinnati Bengals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dec. 18, 4:25 p.m. ET

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CBS: Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson

New York Giants at Washington Commanders, Dec. 18, 8:20 p.m. ET

NBC: Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark

Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Packers, Dec. 19, 8:15 p.m. ET

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ESPN/ABC: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters

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NFL referee assignments Week 14: Who are the officials for every game this week?

As always, the goal for NFL officials who are assigned to NFL games in Week 14 of the 2019 season is for observers not to care who's assigned to what game. If nobody's talking about the officiating, that generally means those calling the games are doing a good job.

Of course, in 2019, chatter around NFL officiating has been as loud as ever, leaving referees to explain questionable calls made by their crews after most games. With the addition of pass interference to the NFL's replay review system this year, senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron's performance is also under the microscope.

Each week, the NFL announces its referee assignments for its slate of games on Thursday, Sunday and Monday. Each referee is tied to his crew of six other officials, including the umpire, line judge, side judge, back judge, field judge and down judge.

MORE: Lions-Packers fiasco illustrates NFL's officiating issues

NFL referee assignments Week 14

The NFL has released its roster of referees and officials for Week 14 of the 2019 NFL season. Here are the assignments for every game.

Cowboys at Bears referee, officials

49ers at Saints referee, officials

Ravens at Bills referee, officials

Redskins at Packers referee, officials

Colts at Buccaneers referee, officials

Lions at Vikings referee, officials

Bengals at Browns referee, officials

Broncos at Texans referee, officials

Panthers at Falcons referee, officials

Dolphins at Jets referee, officials

Chargers at Jaguars referee, officials

Chiefs at Patriots referee, officials

Steelers at Cardinals referee, officials

Titans at Raiders referee, officials

Seahawks at Rams referee, officials

Giants at Eagles referee, officials

NFL officials assignments, responsibilities

Each of the seven NFL officials on the field in a given NFL game have specific roles, watching different areas of the field and looking out for different kinds of penalties on a given play.

Below are the responsibilities of each official, via NFL Operations .

Lining up 10-12 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the offensive backfield, the referee is the white-hat wearing leader of the crew who signals all penalties and is the final authority on all rulings. Below are the referee's assignments on run plays, pass plays and special-teams plays.

Run plays: Watches nap; follows QB until action moves downfield; then follows runner to determine forward progress and position of the ball; determines first downs or if a measurement is necessary.

Pass plays: Shadows QB from drop to release; drops back as the play starts and monitors offensive tackles; turns attention solely to QB as defense approaches; watches for roughing the passer; rules on intentional grounding; makes the decision whether a loose ball is a fumble or incomplete pass.

Special teams: Watches for running into/roughing the kicker.

Lining up next to the referee 10-12 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the offensve backfield, the umpire primarily watches for holding and blocking fouls. He or she also reviews player equipment, counts offensive players on the field and marks off penalty yardage. Below are the umpire's assignments on run plays, pass plays and special teams-plays.

Run plays: Watches for false starts on offensive line; watches for illegal blocks by the offense or any defensive fouls at the line of scrimmage.

Pass plays: Watches for false stars on offensive line; on screens, turns attention to intended receiver to make sure he is able to run his route; watches for blocking penalties.

Special teams: Watches for any penalties.

Lining up on the sideline and looking directly down the line of scrimmage, the down judge directs the chain crew, informs the ref of the down and rules on sideline plays on the nearest half of the field. Below are the down judge's assignments on run plays, pass plays and special-teams plays.

Run plays: Watches for offside or encroachment; monitors sideline; determines when/if a runner is out of bounds; marks runner's forward progress.

Pass plays: Watches nearest receiver for first seven yards of his route until he is clear the point of legal contact for defensive backs; watches for pass interference.

Special teams: Watches for offside and encroachment; rules on penalties involving blockers and defenders on trick plays.

Lining up on the sideline opposite the down judge and looking directly down the line of scrimmage, the line judge has similar duties without the chain crew direction. Below are the line judge's assignments on run plays, pass plays and special-teams plays.

Run plays: Watches for offside and encroachment; watches blockers and defenders on nearest side for penalties.

Pass plays: Watches for offside and encroachment on nearest side of field; follows nearest receiver for seven yards downfield; moves into offensive backfield to determine if pass is forwards or backwards; makes sure passer is behind the line of scrimmage when he throws the ball.

Special teams: Stays at line of scrimmage on punts to make sure only players on the ends of the line move downfield before the kick; rules on whether the kick crosses the line of scrimmage; watches kicking team for penalties.

• Field judge

Lining up on the same sideline as the line judge but 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the defensive backfield, the field judge counts defensive players and watches wide receivers/defensive backs on the nearest side of the field. Below are the field judge's assignments on run plays, pass plays and special-teams plays.

Run plays: Watches widest receiver's blocking and looks for illegal use of hands or holding; determines if/when a runner on nearest side of the field goes out of bounds.

Pass plays: Watches widest receiver on nearest side of the field and makes sure he is able to run his route without interference; rules on whether a pass to nearest side of the field is incomplete; rules on whether a receiver is in or out of bounds when he makes a catch; watches for pass interference.

Special teams: Rules on blocking during punts; lines up under goal posts to rule on whether field goals and extra points are good.

Lining up on the same sideline as the down judge but 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the defensive backfield, the side judge backs up the clock operator, signals to the ref when time expires for each quarter and counts defensive players. Below are the side judge's assignments on run plays, pass plays and special-teams plays.

Special teams: Watches punt returner and any action around him; joins umpire in defensive backfield on field goal and PAT attampts; watches for penalties along the line of scrimmage.

Usually lining up on the tight end's side, the back judge is positioned 25 yards behind the line of scrimmage in the defensive backfield. The back judge keeps track of the play clock and all TV breaks, counts defensive players and focuses on tight ends and all the players on the end of the lines. Below are the back judge's assignments on run plays, pass plays and special-teams plays.

Run plays: Watches tight end for illegal blocking or defensive penalties.

Pass plays: Watches tight end for illegal use of hands or defensive interference; rules on whether a receiver made a legal catch; determines who recovered a fumble.

Special teams: Rules on fair catches; lines up under goal posts to rule on whether field goals and extra points are good.

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Veteran referee carl cheffers assigned to week 15 saints-giants game, share this article.

Veteran referee Carl Cheffers has been assigned to Week 15’s game between the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants, which should be good news for Saints fans. The black and gold have more wins with Cheffers on the field than any other referee, having gone 14-4 since 2008.

That’s not to say Cheffers is playing favorites; the infractions he and his crew look for may just happen to be things the Saints do a good job avoiding. Or, more likely, most of his games with New Orleans fell during the winningest era in franchise history with Drew Brees and Sean Payton calling the shots.

At any rate: this year, Cheffers’ crew is averaging the seventh-fewest penalty flags per game (11.5) with a near-even split between home teams and visitors. They’ve fouled teams more often for false starts (28 of them) and offensive holding (24) than anything else, but the handsy Saints secondary must watch out — Cheffers’ crew has thrown 11 penalty flags for defensive pass interference in as many games.

New York averages just 5.4 penalties for 44.6 yards per game each week, which ranks in the bottom-10 in the league in both areas. New Orleans is averaging 6.1 fouls (which is 18th) and 55.5 yards per game (9th-most, troublingly), largely due to those defensive pass interference infractions. No team averages more yards lost per game to DPI penalties than the Saints (16.8). They’ll need to be careful in coverage and keep it clean.

More 2023 season

This 'disappointing' preseason forecast nailed derek carr's final passing stats, all 32 nfl teams (including the saints) ranked by average attendance in 2023, paulson adebo ranked in pff top 101 players from the 2023 season, derek carr's deal listed among the nfl's worst contracts.

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All 32 NFL teams ranked by attendance in 2023 season (including the Saints)

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High turnover, low morale: NFL’s officiating problems extend beyond the field

During a pregame meeting in 2022, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin asked the officiating crew a question that had been bugging him.

So, who’s in charge here?

As one crew member recalls, Tomlin asked who in the league office was responsible for answering his questions about officiating decisions and who made the final decisions on replay reviews. “I have no idea,” the official told Tomlin that day. “I can’t tell you who’s the boss or who’s not. It’s been so secretive, and they’re just not very forthcoming.”

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Tomlin shrugged. There was a game to play.

Last month, NFL teams received a long-awaited memo announcing structural changes to the league’s officiating department: two vice president hires and the addition of three former officials to the department’s staff, “as part of our ongoing Officiating Improvement Plan.” The memo, obtained by The Athletic , listed the new hires and described their qualifications but didn’t explain the plan’s details. In a separate statement announcing the hires to the public, Senior VP of officiating administration Perry Fewell referenced the plan but was light on specifics.

The NFL declined to comment on the record, but the “improvement plan” for the league’s officiating office is at least an admission that something is wrong, which comes as no surprise to those who have worked there.

“The officiating department is totally underfunded and understaffed,” said Scott Green, a former NFL official with 22 years experience, including nine as a referee, and the current executive director of the NFL Referee Association (NFLRA), the officials’ union.

“A nuisance to the NFL,” is how one former official describes it. “A necessary evil,” another said. “Whether it’s hubris, naivete, ignorance, there’s a belief that anybody can officiate with training.”

The league’s collective bargaining agreement with the NFLRA prevents current officials from talking to reporters, and three current referees declined to comment for this story. The Athletic spoke to 10 former officials, nine of whom worked for the NFL during most recent department leader Walt Anderson’s tenure. Many requested anonymity so they could speak without fear of retribution.

In April, the league announced that Anderson, who oversaw the department for the last four seasons, would vacate his role because his son Derek was hired as part of the 2024 class of officials. The NFL wanted to avoid a conflict of interest but didn’t say who would replace Anderson. A week before the start of the officials’ new league year on May 15, clubs were frustrated by the lack of information. So were the officials.

“We have a clinic the first week of June and we still don’t know who’s in charge,” Green said on May 7.

When the league finally announced the details of the restructure — the day after the officials’ season started — it was deja vu for many current and former department employees. The titles looked slightly different, but it was just another edition of what two ex-officials called a “revolving door.” This is the fifth time leadership has turned over since 2010, when Mike Pereira left and newly appointed NFL executive vice president of Football Operations Troy Vincent began presiding over the department. No one has lasted more than five years since.

“That’s when things really started to get funny up there,” a former official with experience dating back to Pereira’s tenure said. “We’re changing … every two or three years. By the third year, when (the guy’s) vision should really start to materialize, (he’s) gone.”

Morale among game officials is never going to be great — “We’re not partying on a yacht in the south of France,” former head of officiating Dean Blandino said. “This is hard.” Even so, former officials say morale sunk lower than the baseline negative under Anderson.

“They are not paying enough attention upstairs to what it takes to actually run an officiating department,” Green said.

There’s optimism about former umpire Ramon George and former replay official Mark Butterworth, the new VPs of training and replay, respectively. But there’s also skepticism as officials confront yet another shakeup.

“It’s the old smoke-and-mirrors trick with the league,” one former official said. “Where does the buck stop?”

Walt Anderson was never intended to run the roughly 140-person officiating department by himself.

When he was hired in 2020, the league divided the top job into three parts, each handled by a senior vice president. Al Riveron, a former referee, had been the sole leader in the prior regime, and it wasn’t going well, so he shifted to focus on replay. Fewell, a longtime NFL defensive coach, handled administration and communication with coaches. Anderson, a former referee, managed training and development. But Riveron left the NFL just before Anderson’s second season in 2021, and Russell Yurk, Riveron’s No. 2, took a leave of absence, so Anderson stepped into the gap.

That’s when coaches like Tomlin started to get confused about who was making the final decisions on replay. And with Fewell handling most of the communication with coaches despite not having an officiating background, clubs had trouble getting coherent explanations on decisions they disagreed with. When Yurk returned for the 2022 season, Anderson remained the primary replay decision-maker in addition to training and evaluating game officials, making him a de facto department head.

Officials are reviewed after each game by a team of graders at the league office. For the last three decades before Anderson took over, they received their final grades by the following Wednesday, which helped them learn and move on from the last game in time for the next one.

But former officials said Anderson started reviewing every game personally with the idea of improving consistency among crews. By last season, Green said officials weren’t getting their final grades until Friday or Saturday. One former official said he remembered receiving a downgrade from Anderson at 1:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning.

“Our guys are upset,” Green said. “You don’t want to be sitting in a pregame meeting on Saturday still wondering, ‘How did I do last week?'”

Anderson’s input often didn’t match the initial review other graders had finished by Wednesday, which confused some officials, particularly those without a lot of NFL experience. The changes could also be confusing for the department’s graders and trainers.

“The quality of their training is hampered,” one former official said. “You can do all this work and then it gets overridden by someone at the top. When a trainer says one thing to you on Tuesday and then you’re graded another way later in the week, that is conflicting messages that undermine the whole training.”

Anderson’s intentions may have been admirable, but the workload was massive, and, as one former official said, “It’s not sustainable because only Walt can do it.”

Kahler: Is the NFL trying to take back the officiating narrative?

Those who have worked with Anderson described him as detail-oriented down to rote minutiae. Several former officials described his leadership style as “micromanaging.”

One former official remembers Anderson speaking to him in the headset during a game to tell him to get the chain gang member to move their chain a half inch out of the ‘white,’ the six-foot white rectangle just off the field where no players and coaches can stand. The chain crew is supposed to operate from just behind the white, but they’re rarely in perfect position.

“We’re worried about things like that in the middle of a game?” the former official said. “It’s so irrelevant.”

Anderson’s meticulous philosophy impacted morale. Former line judge Tom Symonette said crews went from receiving around four to five downgrades per game before Anderson to 15-20 downgrades per game with him. One former official said Anderson referenced video frames and used a stopwatch when evaluating decisions. Several former officials said his comments were harshly worded and at times, sarcastic, even for top-graded officials who’d qualified for playoff assignments.

“After about Week 4 or 5, I stopped reading them because they just made morale really bad,” said one former official with multiple playoff assignments.

Officiating teams are constantly criticized by fans, coaches, players and media, so when more criticism comes from inside the officiating department, it can feel like overkill. “The bedside manner has to be more positive,” Blandino said. “I always felt you can tell somebody they made a mistake but have them feel good about it.” (Editor’s note: Blandino was a freelance writer for The Athletic in 2017.)

NFL game officials aren’t full-time employees, and many are also successful business executives, some with their own companies. Anderson’s communication style was unlike what they experienced in their civilian jobs.

“Walt is just a straight-talker,” said one former official. “He is not about trying to make it soft or fluffy. In a business sense, he would struggle if he was working for me on my executive team.”

Anderson also implemented the biggest change in officiating mechanics — the way officials move on the field, where they stand to get the best view and how they work in concert to cover multiple angles — since Art McNally developed them in the 1970s.

In his first year, Anderson introduced “Move With Purpose,” a new philosophy developed with a neuro-ophthalmologist that instructed officials to remain as stationary as possible during a play. Physical movement decreases visual accuracy, so by standing still, Anderson taught officials they would be better positioned to see a play’s “mesh points,” crucial moments like when a ballcarrier’s knee goes down.

It made sense in theory, but former officials say that in practice, the change made them worse at their roles — and even could be dangerous. Officials agreed that moving during key moments isn’t optimal for seeing clearly, but they say they’ve trained for years to slow themselves down at just the right moment.

“Would you rather have 85 percent of the view that you need, or 100 percent of three views you don’t need?” one former official said.

For back judges, the deepest officials on the field, the change meant giving up goal line coverage and allowing pass plays to go by them. Instead of backpedaling to keep the play in front of them, they were instructed to freeze.

For officials on the line of scrimmage, it meant standing still while players barreled towards them. Line judges used to move into the backfield if a play was headed towards the sideline to watch the play from behind and stay safe. But Anderson told officials to stay where they were and step backward to avoid contact. Several were hurt, including a down judge who missed the remainder of the 2023 season after getting hit in Week 1 .

“We were sitting ducks,” one former line judge said.

Line-of-scrimmage officials used to move with the ball carrier to get an accurate spot. Move with Purpose meant line judges could no longer follow, so they had to rule on a spot from several yards behind the play, which five former LOS officials said was much harder.

“There were a lot of missed calls because people were out of position,” a veteran official said. “I need to get up there to see if there’s a hold in front of the play. You can’t see it from 8 yards behind the play. Or if there’s a facemask up there, how the hell am I supposed to see that?”

“You see a lot of deeper plays where the official is just too far behind the play to really have an ability to effectively officiate that play,” Blandino said.

“There’s always been mechanics that guys liked and didn’t like,” retired NFL back judge Keith Ferguson said, but some veteran officials had a hard time adjusting. Several said they made uncharacteristic mistakes and received the worst grades of their careers in 2020. Even when they made the right decision, Anderson downgraded them if they moved incorrectly.

“I was having to remind myself, OK, don’t move ,” one veteran official said. “I was thinking about mechanics as opposed to watching the play.”

Another former official said his grader told him he was in the top three for correct calls at his position, but he kept getting downgraded because he couldn’t reprogram his muscle memory. “Doesn’t it matter that you get it right on the field?” he said he asked his grader. “And he told me, ‘Well, apparently not anymore.'”

“I couldn’t relax,” Symonette said. “What made me successful my first 15 years did not make me successful anymore.”

Symonette found himself out of the league because of it. He had been an accomplished official with 10 playoff assignments, including Super Bowl XLVIII , with his last postseason assignment in 2017. After the frustrating 2020 season, he put in his four-year retirement notice. When the league office got his notice, he said Anderson let him go right away.

Every head of officiating tweaks mechanics to some degree, but former officials said Anderson’s felt more drastic and were rushed into practice. When Blandino was in charge, he had a committee of officials meet to discuss mechanics and decide which needed updating. Several former officials said they didn’t learn about Anderson’s changes until they got comments or downgrades about their movement during the season.

Perhaps the philosophy’s biggest flaw was its rigidity. When they’d talked about mechanics under previous leadership, the conversations left room for practicing judgment, a skill officials develop over years of game experience. Under Move with Purpose, there was no room for situation-based decisions.

“Officiating went backward 25 years because of those mechanics,” one former official said.

NFL coaches, stop reading here.

This season, an abnormally high number of inexperienced officials will take the field: 27 will have three years or less, and a third of the 120 officials have five years or less. Twelve officials retired after 2022 (every departure is characterized as a retirement), and 10 officials retired after the 2021 season, just the second time that 10 or more officials left in back-to-back years.

Most officials agree that it takes about five years to become proficient at the NFL level.

“There’s been a big turnover,” Ferguson, the former back judge, said. “It’s going to take time to get guys up to speed because they’ve lost a lot of good officials.”

A 20-year vet, Ferguson left the ranks after the 2022 season, and he said when he retired he probably hadn’t met at least half of the officials. “It used to be that every crew had at least four or five experienced officials that they put you around,” he said. “Now you may only have one or maybe two experienced officials in there.”

Another former official said when he got into the league around 20 years ago, most crews had one official that was “scratchy” or not up to snuff, but it would be unusual for a crew to have two. A current official sent him the 2024 crew assignment list and after reviewing it, he said, “now you can’t find a crew that has four strong officials.”

The turnover and inexperience of today’s NFL officials can be traced all the way down to the high school level. Bill Topp, president of the National Association of Sports Officials, said that after the pandemic, state associations and other national organizations reported a 25 to 33 percent drop in the number of high school officials. For a sport like football, with a handful games and limited reps per season, that drop has had a huge impact on the quality and training of new officials.

“How fast can we get them ready?” Topp said. “In the old days, you had to work the first few seasons of youth and freshman football, then JV, and now we have first-year officials getting varsity games immediately because the need is so great.

“The reality is we are taking more assignment chances than we ever have. We’re putting people on games that we believe aren’t quite ready yet, but the numbers are forcing it.”

The inexperience at the high school level has created a mess in college. Symonette has been the coordinator of officials for the Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference since 2014 and has seen a steady decline in the football IQ and overall preparedness of officials coming from high school. “I’ve got to retrain them and untangle everything they’ve learned,” he said.

“If you go down to the lower ranks, a lot of people don’t want to officiate anymore,” Ferguson said. “When I was hired, you had to have at least 10 years of a college officiating background. That’s gone.”

NFL owners vote to modify kickoff rules

NFL officials have an annual clinic in June, then work training camps and joint practices to get reps before the season. College officials in the developmental pipeline work preseason games with veteran crews. But the individual training available to officials during the season is self-directed, according to one former official who sent a few plays each week to a trainer who would tell him, yes, that’s a foul, or no, it wasn’t.

The expansion of replay assistance since 2021 means that officials don’t have to get the spot of the ball right on the first try or keep the time perfectly. Replay officials regularly tinker with the game clock and spots during games, instructing crews to move the ball a half yard forward or backward, in part because the Move With Purpose mechanics have made officials less accurate on forward progress.

Anderson’s mechanics, paired with inexperienced officials, have expedited the need for more replay assistance to save the day. Pereira said he’s noticed officials are much more tentative. “Much of the power is being taken away from the officials on the field,” he said.

Several former officials say that replay has become a crutch for many crews and a reason that development doesn’t feel like a priority. Blandino likens it to driving a car with a backup camera. When he drives without one, he can barely remember how to get out of the driveway.

“If I know that if I don’t drop a beanbag in the right spot, (it’s OK) because replay is going to correct it, then I’m not going to focus on the mechanics that I’ve been doing forever,” Blandino said. “And that means that my overall level of officiating is going to decline.”

Instead of hiring another Senior VP to replace Anderson and co-chair the department with Fewell, the league posted two lower-level VP jobs overseeing officiating training and development and replay training and development. Both positions, which would report to Fewell, listed a salary range of $215,000-315,000.

That range provided more fodder for the notion that the league doesn’t spend enough to staff the department — or to compete with the broadcast networks that poached Pereira and Blandino, the favorites among officials who worked under six different leaders over the last 20 years.

“It’s the second most important job in the league,” Pereira said. “I don’t give anybody beyond the commissioner a more important position than the head of officiating. You are dealing with the game and with the coaches and the GMs. If they trust you, you are dealing with the media. You are the face.”

“Put it in the top 10 (of league office salaries),” Blandino said. “It’s not even in the ballpark. When the commissioner is making $50 or $60 million, the delta is the Grand Canyon-plus.”

The league had to sweeten the offer a bit to get George to come off the field, according to Green, who said George told him that he took the job for more than the posted salary. Multiple former officials said the former umpire also will not relocate to New York from his home in Jacksonville, Fla. An NFL spokesperson declined to comment on officiating personnel decisions.

Some former officials worry that George, who declined to comment for this story, might plan to return to on-field officiating after a couple of years — like line judge Carl Johnson did after leading the department from 2010-12 — and the turnover will continue.

Pereira said he’s encouraged by what he’s heard about George from some of the trainers. “He is listening,” Perreria said. “He is not dictating what they are going to do. He made a comment like, ‘I am an umpire. I haven’t worked deep, you have to educate me.’ That kind of approach is a positive approach.”

In another lifetime, there was consistency in the department. McNally, the godfather of NFL officiating, led the group for 23 years, then Jerry Seeman for 10 years, then Pereira for nine. “When I got the job after Jerry, it was a harder job,” Pereira said. “And when people got the job after me, it was a harder job.”

In 2010, Pereira left for Fox Sports to become the first-ever network rules analyst. After Blandino made the same move following the 2016 season, Pereira said he saw “the spiral starting” and urged members of the competition committee to hire Blandino back.

Blandino said he talked with the league about returning a couple of years ago. The conversations progressed, and he outlined a reimagined structure for the department as well as what he was looking for in compensation. He said he loved working for the league, but during those talks, it was clear to him he wouldn’t be able to hire who he wanted to — or get paid enough to do it.

Most officiating observers agree that the league’s new structure looks good on paper. But will George and Butterworth be empowered to make the changes they want to?

“We talk about this Officiating Improvement Plan, but OK, what is it?” Blandino said. “How are we going to get better? How are we going to quantify that? What are the steps?”

A person who attended the annual clinic in Dallas this week said no additional specifics were provided about the improvement plan and that leadership had no information about the grading process for the 2024 season.

Anderson is still working in the department as a rules analyst and club communications liaison. When the officials met this week, he presented reports on rule changes that came from competition committee meetings. The person in attendance said officials were relieved to learn that the department would be reversing the Move With Purpose mechanics.

Green attended the clinic and said that George told him they’d be going back to the old ways. “What most officials are more comfortable using,” Green said. “They are going to let guys run.”

(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic ; photo: Andy Lewis / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Kalyn Kahler is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the NFL. She previously worked as a staff writer for Defector and at Sports Illustrated, where she worked her way up from editorial assistant and personal assistant to Peter King. She is a graduate of Northwestern University.

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The Dolphins and the 2024-25 NFL Calendar

Alain poupart | jun 18, 2024.

• Miami Dolphins

The NFL has unveiled its calendar for 2024-25, so here's the rundown with a particular focus on the Miami Dolphins:

June 18 — Clubs may begin signing UFL players provided they have received written permission from the player’s UFL club, and the player has been listed as a termination on the UFL Personnel Notice. ... NFL clubs are permitted to request tryouts of UFL players beginning the day following a player’s last game (including playoffs) of the season.

Mid-Late June — Rookie Readiness Program to be held at individual clubs.

July 15 — At 4 p.m. ET, deadline for any Club that designated a Franchise Player to sign such player to a multiyear contract or extension. After this date, the player may sign only a one-year contract with his Prior Club for the 2024 season, and such contract cannot be extended until after the Club’s last regular season game. This does not apply to the Dolphins, who didn't use the franchise tag this offseason.

Beginning on July 15, or on the first day any club begins its training camp, whichever is earlier, and concluding at 4 p.m. ET on the day of the roster reduction to 53 players, players in the Reserve List categories of Drafted; Unsigned, Exclusive Rights, First Refusal Rights, Unrestricted Free Agents with an individually negotiated Right of First Refusal, Franchise, and Transition will not count against the overall 90-player limit.

July 16 — Dolphins rookies reporting date.

Juiy 22 — At 4 p.m. ET Signing Period ends for Transition Players with outstanding tenders. After this date and until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, Prior Club has exclusive negotiating rights. ... At 4 p.m. ET on July 22 (or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp [July 17 in 2024], whichever is later) signing Period ends for Unrestricted Free Agents to whom a “UFA Tender” was made by Prior Club. After this date and until 4 p.m. ET on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, Prior Club has exclusive negotiating rights.

AUGUST 2024

August 1-4 — Hall of Fame Weekend (Canton, Ohio)

August 6 — If a Drafted Rookie has not signed with his club by this date, he cannot be traded to any other club in 2024 and may sign a Player Contract only with the drafting club until the day of the Draft in the 2025 League Year. This does not apply to the Dolphins, who already have signed all of their draft picks.

August 6-7 —  Miami Dolphins joint practice with Atlanta Falcons, Baptist Health Training Complex

August 8-11 — First Preseason Weekend

August 9 — Preseason game, Atlanta Falcons at Miami, 7 p.m.

August 10-13 — Each Club has until five days prior to its second preseason game to provide any tendered, but unsigned Exclusive Rights Player or Restricted Free Agent with written notice of the club’s intent to place the player on the Exempt List if the player fails to report at least the day before the club’s second preseason game. Such notice must also be sent to the NFLPA. Once such notice has been provided, the club must place the player on the Exempt List. While on the Exempt List, the player will not be entitled to compensation for up to three regular-season games, depending upon the date the player reports to the club. Any such player who fails to report prior to the deadline will be ineligible to play or receive compensation for at least three games (preseason or regular season) from the time that he reports.

August 15-18 — Second Preseason Weekend

August 15 — Miami Dolphins joint practice with Washington Commanders, Baptist Health Training Complex

August 17 — Preseason game, Washington Commanders at Miami, 7 p.m.

August 21 — Miami Dolphins joint practice with Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa

August 22-25 — Third Preseason Weekend

August 23 — Preseason game, Miami at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7:30 p.m.

August 27 — Prior to 4 ET, clubs must reduce rosters to a maximum of 53 players on the Active/Inactive List. ... Simultaneously with the roster reduction to 53 players, clubs that have players in the categories of Active/Physically Unable to Perform or Active/Non-Football Injury or Illness must select one of the following options: place player on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform or Reserve/Non-Football Injury or Illness, whichever is applicable; terminate or request waivers with the designation of Failed Physical or Non- Football Injury or Illness, whichever is applicable; request waivers; terminate contract; trade contract; or continue to count the player on the Active List. Clubs are permitted to designate for return a maximum of two players who are placed on an applicable Reserve List during the business day of the final roster reduction. Any such player will immediately count against the club’s number of designations, even if the player does not subsequently return to practice. ... Players who are on the Reserve List or Exempt List and are not counting against the 90-player limit will begin to count against the 90-player limit.

August 28 — Claiming period for players placed on waivers at the final roster reduction will expire at noon ET. ... Upon receipt of the subsequent Personnel Notice, clubs may establish a Practice Squad of 17 players, as long as one player qualifies as an International Player. No club, including the player’s prior club, will be permitted to sign a player to a Practice Player Contract until all clubs have received simultaneous notification via the above Personnel Notice that such player’s prior NFL Player Contract has been terminated via the waiver system. ... Beginning at 4 p.m. ET, any player placed on Reserve/Injured, Reserve/Non-Football Injury or Illness, or Practice Squad; Injured during the regular season or postseason, may be designated for return later in the season, subject to the applicable procedures.

SEPTEMBER 2024

Sept. 1 — Final day of preseason training camp for all clubs, as defined in CBA Article 23, Section 10.

September 2-7 — In accordance with the Personnel (Injury) Report Policy, each club is required to file a Practice Report with the NFL Communications department by 4 p.m. ET (or as soon as possible after the completion of practice) every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for a regular season Monday game; Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday for a Wednesday game; Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for a Thursday game; Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for a Friday game; Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for a Saturday game; and Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for a Sunday game. ... Each club must also file a weekly regular season Game Status Report with the NFL Communications department by 4 p.m. ET (or as soon as possible after the completion of practice) on Saturday for a Monday game; Tuesday for a Wednesday game; Wednesday for a Thursday game, Thursday for a Friday game, Thursday for a Saturday game, and Friday for a Sunday game. An update must be reported if there is any change in a player's condition after the initial Game Status Report is filed.

September 4, at 4 ET, deadline for all NFL Player Contracts, Practice Player Contracts, tender offers, and miscellaneous amounts to fit within each Club’s 2024 Salary Cap, in anticipation of the midnight expiration of the Top 51 Rule.

September 5 — At 12 a.m. ET, the Top 51 Rule expires for all NFL Clubs.

September 5, 6, 8-9 — First Week of Regular Season Games

September 6, 7, 10 — Beginning on these dates, any player with at least four previous pension-credited seasons who is released from his Club’s Active List or Inactive List (or from his Club’s Reserve/Injured List if placement occurred after the club’s first regular season game) is entitled to claim Termination Pay after the end of the regular season, subject to the terms and conditions of CBA Article 30.

September 8 — Jacksonville Jaguars at Miami, 1 p.m.

Thursday, September 12 — Buffalo Bills at Miami, 8:15 p.m.

September 22 — Miami at Seattle Seahawks, 4:05 p.m.

September 27 — Beginning on the day after a club’s fourth regular season game (including any bye week), it is permitted to begin practicing players on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform and Reserve/Non-Football Injury or Illness (if the player failed his preseason physical due to a non-football injury or illness) for a period not to exceed 21 days. Players may be activated during the 21-day practice period, or prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the day after the conclusion of the 21-day period.

Monday, September 30 — Tennessee Titans at Miami, 7:30 p.m.

OCTOBER 2024

October 6 — Miami at New England Patriots, 1 p.m.

October 13 — Miami Dolphins bye week

October 15 — Deadline for any player claiming the 2024 Injury Protection benefit to file a grievance.

October 15-16 — Fall League Meeting (The Whitley, Atlanta, Georgia)

October 20 — Miami at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m.

October 27 — Arizona Cardinals at Miami, 1 p.m.

NOVEMBER 2024

November 3 — Miami at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m.

November 4 — Any increase in a player’s 2024 Salary from a renegotiation or extension that is received by the Management Council after 4:00 p.m., New York time, on this day, will be treated as Signing Bonus, and prorated over the entire term of the Player Contract, including 2024.

November 5 — All trading ends for 2024 at 4:00 p.m., New York time.

November 6 — Players with at least four previous pension-credited seasons are subject to the waiver system for the remainder of the regular season and postseason.

Monday, November 11 — Miami at Los Angeles Rams, 8:15 p.m.

November 12 — At 4 p.m. ET, signing period ends for Franchise Players who are eligible to receive Offer Sheets. ... Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for Clubs to sign their unsigned Franchise and Transition Players, including Franchise Players who were eligible to receive Offer Sheets until this date. If still unsigned after this date, such players are prohibited from playing in NFL in 2024. ... Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for Clubs to sign their Unrestricted Free Agents to whom the “UFA Tender” was made. If still unsigned after this date, such players are prohibited from playing in NFL in 2024. ... Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for Clubs to sign their Restricted Free Agents, including those to whom the “June 1 Tender” was made. If such players remain unsigned after this date, they are prohibited from playing in NFL in 2024.

November 17 — Las Vegas Raiders at Miami, 1 p.m.

November 18 — Clubs are permitted to begin to try out and negotiate an NFL Player Contract with CFL Players for the 2025 season until Tuesday, February 11, 2025. These players may not sign an NFL Player Contract or NFL Practice Player Contract for the 2024 regular season or postseason.

November 24 — New England Patriots at Miami, 1 p.m.

November 27-28 — Deadline at 4 p.m. ET, on the last business day prior to a club’s Week 13 game for reinstatement of players in Reserve List categories of Retired, Did Not Report, and Exclusive Rights, and of players who were placed on Reserve/Left Squad in a previous season.

Thursday, November 28 — Miami at Green Bay Packers, 8:20 p.m.

DECEMBER 2024

December 8 — New York Jets at Miami, 1 p.m.

December 10 — NFLMC Labor Seminar (Ritz-Carlton-Las Colinas, Irving, Texas)

December 10-11 — Special League Meeting/Front Office Accelerator (Ritz-Carlton-Las Colinas, Irving, Texas)

December 15 — Miami at Houston Texans, 1 p.m.

December 15 — Deadline for all Clubs to submit their individual lists of players who received, or filed a grievance for, the Basic or Extended Injury Protection Benefit for the 2024 season.

December 22 — San Francisco 49ers at Miami, 4:25 p.m.

December 29 — Miami at Cleveland Browns, 8:20 p.m.

JANUARY 2025

January 4-5 — Miami at New York Jets, TBD

January 6 — During the period beginning the Monday following the final regular season weekend through the conclusion of the final postseason game, assignments of player contracts will be deferred until the first business day after the Super Bowl. Terminations of player contracts will occur at the expiration of the claiming period. ... A club that is participating in the playoffs may sign players whose contracts have been terminated to its Active/Inactive List, Practice Squad (if applicable), or Reserve/Future List. A club whose playing season has concluded may sign such players to its Reserve/Future List only. ... Clubs may begin signing free agent players for the 2025 season, including players from the CFL. ... Earliest permissible date for clubs to renegotiate or extend the Rookie Contract of a Drafted Rookie who was selected in any round of the 2022 College Draft or any Undrafted Rookie who signed in 2023. Any permissible renegotiated or extended Player Contract will not be considered a Rookie Contract and will not be subject to the rules that limit Rookie Contracts. Clubs may exercise fifth-year options for players selected in the first round of the 2022 Draft. ... Prior to 4 p.m. ET, clubs must provide the Management Council with written notice, signed by the individual club’s owner, indicating the amount, if any, of the club’s 2024 League Year Salary Cap Room to be credited to the club’s 2025 Team Salary.

January 8 — Beginning at 4 p.m. ET on the Wednesday following the final regular season weekend, rosters are frozen for clubs participating in the postseason with limited exceptions.

January 11-13 — Wild Card Games

Mid-January (Tentative) — Deadline for college players who are underclassmen to apply for Special Eligibility.

January 18-19 — Divisional Playoff Games

January 20 — NCAA National Championship Game (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia)

January 26 — AFC & NFC Championship Games

January 30 — East-West Shrine Bowl (TBD)

January 31 — Deadline for any player claiming the Extended Injury Protection Benefit for the 2025 season based on a 2023 injury or 2024 club authorized offseason surgery to notify his former Club in writing.

February 2025

February 1 — Deadline for non-playoff clubs to submit their individual lists of Physician-Certified 2024 Basic Injury Protection Benefit Candidates to the Management Council. ... Senior Bowl (Hancock-Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama)

February 2 — Pro Bowl (TBD)

February 9 — Super Bowl LIX (Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana)

February 10 — Waiver system begins for 2025. With certain exceptions, a 24-hour claiming period will be in effect through the entire year; however, waiver requests made on Friday and Saturday of each week will expire at 4 p.m., ET on the following Monday. Players with at least four previous pension-credited seasons whom a club desires to terminate are not subject to the waiver system until the day after the trading deadline. ... Beginning the first business day after the Super Bowl through the opening of the first training camp for Rookies in 2025, clubs must report all tryouts and visits to the League office; however, such transactions will not be reported to other clubs.

February 11 — Deadline for clubs to execute a 2025 NFL Player Contract with CFL players who are under contract for the 2025 season. Beginning at 12:01 p.m., NFL clubs are prohibited from seeking permission to try out, negotiate, and/or sign a CFL player who is under contract for the 2025 season. Beginning at 12:01 p.m., CFL players whose contracts are set to expire after the 2024 CFL season become free agents. NFL clubs may try out, negotiate with, and/or sign these players without requesting permission.

February 15 — Deadline for playoff clubs to submit their individual lists of Physician-Certified 2024 Basic Injury Protection Benefit Candidates to the Management Council.

February 18 — Beginning this date through at 4 p.m. ET on March 4, clubs may designate Franchise or Transition Players.

February 24 – March 3 — NFL Scouting Combine (Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana) March

March 4 — Prior to 4 p.m. ET, deadline for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players. ... College Pro Days Begin. Workouts of a school’s Pro Day-eligible players during the days leading up to Pro Day activities are prohibited. Private dinners, meetings, interviews are permitted.

March 4 – April 16 — Draft-Eligible Facility Visits Begin. Clubs are permitted 30 non-local players for physical exams/visits; no on-field workouts.

March 4 – April 23 — Video or telephone interviews with draft-eligible players begin. Clubs are permitted three video or telephone interviews per player, no longer than one hour in length.

March 6 — Deadline for clubs whose final game of the 2024 regular season is Sunday, January 5 (60 days after final regular season game) to conduct physical examinations pursuant to CBA Article 45, Section 7(a) for players claiming the Extended Injury Protection Benefit for the 2025 season.

March 10-12 — Negotiation Period. During the period beginning at 12 p.m. ET March 10 and ending at 3:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 12, clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2024 Player Contracts at 4 p.m., ET on March 12. During the above two-day negotiating period, a prospective UFA who is not represented by an NFLPA Certified Contract Advisor (“Unrepresented Player”) is permitted to communicate directly with a new club’s front office officials (excluding the Head Coach and other members of the club’s coaching staff) regarding contract negotiations. The club is responsible for confirming the player’s status as an Unrepresented Player. No prospective Unrestricted Free Agent is permitted to execute a contract with a new club until 4 p.m. ET on March 12.

March 12 — End/Start of League Year. Deadline at 3:59:59 p.m., New York Time, for clubs to exercise individually negotiated options for 2025 on all players who have option clauses in their 2024 contracts, subject to any earlier deadline specified in a player’s contract. ... Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must submit Qualifying Offers to their Restricted Free Agents with expiring contracts to retain a Right of First Refusal/Compensation. ... Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must submit a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2024 contracts who have fewer than three Accrued Seasons of free agency credit. ... Top 51 Rule is in effect. All clubs must be under the 2025 Salary Cap prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time. All 2024 NFL player contracts will expire at 4:00 p.m., New York time. .... The 2025 League Year and Free Agency signing period begin at 4:00 p.m., New York time. ... The first day of the 2025 League Year will end at 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 12. Clubs will receive a Personnel Notice that will include all transactions submitted to the League office during the period between 4:00 p.m., New York time, and 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 12. ... Trading period for 2025. Trading begins at 4:00 p.m., New York time, after expiration of all 2024 contracts. ... Commencing at 4:00 p.m., New York time, Clubs may designate up to two Player Contracts that, if terminated on or prior to June 1, 2025, and if not renegotiated after January 5, 2025, shall be treated as if terminated on June 2, subject to the further requirements of CBA Article 13, Section 6(b)(ii)(1).

March 20 — Deadline for all Clubs to submit their individual lists of Physician-Certified Candidates for the 2025 Extended Injury Protection Benefit.

March 30-April 2 — Annual League Meeting (The Breakers, Palm Beach, Florida)

March 31 — Deadline for clubs to meet 2025 funding requirements for guaranteed or deferred compensation in NFL Player Contracts and contracts for non-player Club employees.

April 7 — Clubs that hired a new Head Coach after the end of the 2024 regular season may begin offseason workout programs.

April 16 — Deadline for clubs to time, test, visit, interview, or conduct a physical examination with a draft-eligible player at its club facility.

April 18 — Deadline for Restricted Free Agents to sign Offer Sheets.

April 21 — Clubs with returning Head Coaches may begin offseason workout programs.

April 23 — Deadline for Prior Club to exercise Right of First Refusal to Restricted Free Agents who signed offer sheets. ... Deadline for clubs to time, test, visit, interview (including video and phone calls), or conduct a physical examination with a draft-eligible player at any location.

April 24-26 — Annual Selection Meeting/NFL Draft (Green Bay, Wisconsin)

April 29 — Deadline for Prior Club to send “April 29 Tender” to its unsigned Unrestricted Free Agents. If the player has not signed a Player Contract with a Club by July 22 or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later, he may negotiate or sign a Player Contract from that date until the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, at 4:00 p.m., New York time, only with his Prior Club.

May 1 — Deadline for Clubs to exercise Fifth-Year Option for players selected in the first round of the 2022 Draft.

May 2-5 or May 9-12 — Clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-Draft rookie minicamp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday on one of the two weekends following the Draft.

May 12 — Rookie Football Development Programs begin.

May 15-18 — NFLPA Rookie Premiere (TBD) (Tentative)

May 20-21 — Spring League Meeting/Coach Accelerator (Omni Viking Lakes Hotel, Minneapolis, Minnesota)

May 31 — Deadline for all clubs to conduct physical examinations pursuant to CBA Article 45, Section 7(c) for players claiming the Extended Injury Protection Benefit for the 2025 season.

ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of AllDolphins.com and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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France and six other countries face EU budget discipline measures

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Additional reporting by Leigh Thomas in Paris; Reporting by Jan Strupczewski Editing by Bernadette Baum, Tomasz Janowski and Catherine Evans

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Jan is the Deputy Bureau Chief for France and Benelux, running the Reuters office in Brussels. He has been covering European Union policy, focusing on economics, since 2005 after a five year assignment in Stockholm where he covered tech and telecoms stocks, the central bank and general news. Jan joined Reuters in 1993 in Warsaw from the main Polish TV news programme "Wiadomosci", where he was a reporter and anchor for the morning news edition. Jan won the Reuters Journalist of the Year award in 2007 in the Scoop of the Year category, a second time in 2010 for his coverage of the euro zone sovereign debt crisis and for the third time in 2011, this time as part of the Brussels team, for the Story of the Year. A Polish national, Jan graduated from Warsaw University with a Master’s in English literature. He is a keen sailor, photographer and bushcraft enthusiast.

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South korea fired warning shots after north korean soldiers crossed border on thursday.

South Korea's military fired warning shots after several North Korean soldiers crossed the border on Thursday morning, the Yonhap news agency reported on Friday citing the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Assignments Week 15

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2024 UFL season Assignments

Assignments

Week 15 referee assignments.

John Hussey will lead his crew into Baltimore this Thursday as the Jets face the Ravens in this AFC clash.

John Hussey will lead his crew into Baltimore this Thursday as the Jets face the Ravens in this AFC clash. Clay Martin is off this week.

Thursday, Dec. 12

• Jets at Ravens   NFLN  —  John Hussey

Sunday, Dec. 15

• Bears at Packers  —  Scott Novak
• Broncos at Chiefs  —  Clete Blakeman
• Texans at Titans  —  Bill Vinovich
• Dolphins at Giants  —  Jerome Boger
• Patriots at Bengals  —  Alex Kemp
• Eagles at Washington  —  Shawn Smith
• Seahawks at Panthers  —  Carl Cheffers
• Buccaneers at Lions  —  Adrian Hill
• Browns at Cardinals  —  Brad Allen
• Jaguars at Raiders  —  Brad Rogers
• Vikings at Chargers  —  Ron Torbert
• Falcons at 49ers  —  Craig Wrolstad
• Rams at Cowboys  —  Walt Anderson
• Bills at Steelers   NBC  —  Tony Corrente

Monday, Dec. 16

• Colts at Saints   ESPN  —  Shawn Hochuli

Week 15 officiating liveblog

2019-20 bowl officiating assignments

Cam Filipe is a forensic scientist and has been involved in football officiating for 12 years. Cam is in his fourth season as a high school football official. This is his ninth season covering NFL officiating for Football Zebras.

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