For the first time since Week 5, we have a full 16-game slate of NFL referee assignments, with no teams on a bye for Thanksgiving week. Let’s take a look at which NFL refs and their crews are assigned to which games and inspect what we might see from the crews in the two prime-time games.
NFL Referee Assignments for Week 12
With three games already in the books on Thursday, the remaining 13 NFL ref assignments for Week 12 are listed below. Ahead of the season, each referee was assigned a crew from the NFL’s officiating roster. To see which officials have been assigned to work with each ref, use our handy guide to the 2022 officiating crews.
- Denver Broncos at Carolina Panthers | 1 p.m.
Clay Martin - Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cleveland Browns | 1 p.m.
Tra Blake - Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars | 1 p.m.
Land Clark - Houston Texans at Miami Dolphins | 1 p.m.
Jerome Boger - Chicago Bears at New York Jets | 1 p.m.
John Hussey - Cincinnati Bengals at Tennessee Titans | 1 p.m.
Carl Cheffers - Atlanta Falcons at Washington Commanders | 1:05 p.m.
Brad Rogers - Los Angeles Chargers at Arizona Cardinals | 4:05 p.m.
Ron Torbert - Las Vegas Raiders at Seattle Seahawks | 4:25 p.m.
Brad Allen - Los Angeles Rams at Kansas City Chiefs | 4:25 p.m.
Adrian Hill - New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers | 4:25 p.m.
Shawn Hochuli - Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles | 8:20 p.m.
Shawn Smith
Monday Night Football Referee Assignment
Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts | 8:15 p.m.
Bill Vinovich
What Can We Expect From the Prime-Time NFL Officiating Crews in Week 12?
We could see two reasonably free-flowing prime-time games this week. The crews of Shawn Smith and Bill Vinovich rank in the bottom five when it comes to penalties this year.
Smith’s crew has averaged 11.6 penalties per game. Interestingly, that is only 0.28 penalties per game below average for all crews this year, but it’s fifth-lowest of the 17 crews in the NFL’s rotation. Smith’s crew also averages 2.2 flags per game that are dismissed so far this season.
Another thing to watch is the home/road balance of Smith’s crew on Sunday Night Football. They average 1.6 more penalties against road teams than home teams. That is the second-largest discrepancy in the league entering Week 12.
MORE: NFL Week 12 Picks and Predictions
In terms of individual penalties, Smith’s crew is not notable for significantly calling penalties above league average. This crew is largely balanced in how they call games. However, unsportsmanlike conduct penalties are something they are second in the league in calling, averaging one every two and a half games.
As for Vinovich’s crew on Monday Night Football, they average the fewest flags and penalties per game among the 17 crews. Their 8.1 penalties per game rate is 1.3 per game below the next lowest. Meanwhile, they average 10.5 flags per game, with 2.4 dismissed on average per week.
As you would expect, Vinovich’s crew does not rank high in terms of any individual penalties. However, one penalty they call the fewest of any crew is defensive pass interference (DPI). This crew likes to let the players play it out, with just four DPI penalties through 10 games.
It’s worth noting they have actually thrown six flags for DPI — two were declined. Additionally, it is interesting they have three of their four DPI penalties against the home team, with just one on the road team.