NFL referees are the people that every football fan loves to hate. Every week, it seems that at least one game ends with a discussion over the officiating and the impact it had on the game.
Each NFL referee and their team has their own idiosyncrasies that they need to be aware of in terms of what they look for. With that in mind, let’s look at the Week 1 NFL ref assignments for all 15 games on Sunday and Monday.
NFL Referee Assignments for Week 1
All times Eastern and game day Sunday unless stated.
- Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs | 8:20 p.m. (Thu)
John Hussey - Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons | 1 p.m.
Brad Rogers - Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens | 1 p.m.
Tra Blake - Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns | 1 p.m.
Clete Blakeman - Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts | 1 p.m.
Clay Martin - Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings | 1 p.m.
Scott Novak - Tennessee Titans at New Orleans Saints | 1 p.m.
Ron Torbert
- San Francisco 49ers at Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 p.m.
Alex Kemp - Arizona Cardinals at Washington Commanders | 1 p.m.
Alan Eck - Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears | 4:25 p.m.
Craig Wrolstad - Las Vegas Raiders at Denver Broncos | 4:25 p.m.
Bill Vinovich - Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Chargers | 4:25 p.m.
Brad Allen - Philadelphia Eagles at New England Patriots | 4:25 p.m.
Shawn Hochuli
- Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks | 4:25 p.m.
Shawn Smith - Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants | 8:20 p.m.
Adrian Hill - Buffalo Bills at New York Jets | 8:15 p.m. (Mon)
Carl Cheffers
Taking the Week 1 NFL ref assignments and examining last year’s numbers, it was Carl Cheffers’ crew that had the highest total penalty count per game over the course of the year, averaging 12.39 penalties for 106.44 yards per game. That is not a great sign for anyone hoping to see a flag-free Monday Night Football to kick off 2023.
Meanwhile, the 49ers and Steelers will need to be careful. Alex Kemp’s crew threw the most flags per game with 14.71 per game but had a league-high 3.41 of those per game dismissed.
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On the other end of the spectrum is Bill Vinovich and his crew. They threw the second-fewest flags per game (10.76) and had the lowest number of penalties per game at 8.47. That resulted in just 61.47 total yards of penalties per game from Hochuli’s crew.
One team that will certainly be hoping to be on their best behavior this week is the Miami Dolphins. Their official, Brad Allen, and his crew averaged 1.94 more penalties per game against road teams than home teams. The good news for the Dolphins is that playing the Chargers on the road likely means they will have the advantage in terms of the relative number of fans in the stadium.
Of course, we should take all of these stats with a pinch of salt. Each year new officials enter the league, and the crews around these referees change., While the philosophy of the crew is likely set by the ref assigned to the game, it doesn’t mean things will stay the same. To see the full list of officiating crews for 2023, check out the complete list at Football Zebras.
