The final round of NFL bye weeks means this is the quietest week in terms of NFL ref assignments for the remainder of the 2022 season. Let’s examine the full slate of NFL referee assignments for the remainder of Week 14’s games and take a closer look at what we might expect to see from the prime-time crews this week.
NFL Referee Assignments for Week 14
The full group of NFL ref assignments for Week 14 is listed below. Prior to the season starting, each ref had an officiating crew assigned to them from the NFL officiating roster. If you are looking to find which officials are on each crew, then our 2022 officiating guide has the full list.
- New York Jets at Buffalo Bills | 1 p.m.
Alex Kemp - Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals | 1 p.m.
Jerome Boger - Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys | 1 p.m.
John Hussey - Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions | 1 p.m.
Ron Torbert - Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants | 1 p.m.
Clete Blakeman - Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers | 1 p.m.
Adrian Hill - Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans | 1 p.m.
Clay Martin - Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos | 4:05 p.m.
Craig Wrolstad - Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks | 4:25 p.m.
Bill Vinovich - Tampa Bay Buccaneers at San Francisco 49ers | 4:25 p.m.
Brad Allen - Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Chargers | 8:20 p.m.
Scott Novak
Monday Night Football Referee Assignment
New England Patriots at Arizona Cardinals | 8:15 p.m.
Shawn Smith
What Can We Expect From the Prime-Time NFL Officiating Crews in Week 14?
The two crews we will see in prime time this week sit on opposite sides of the league average when it comes to penalties per game. Scott Novak’s crew averages 12.42 penalties per game, which is the sixth-most in the league. Meanwhile, Shawn Smith’s crew averages 11.08 penalties per game, the fifth-fewest in the league.
Novak’s crew has been reasonably balanced and actually averages 0.58 more penalties per game on home teams than road teams. The crew leads the league in false start penalties per game and is top five in defensive holding, delay of game, and defensive offside penalties per game.
When it comes to home-road split, Novak’s crew has 36% more offensive holding, 80% more defensive holding penalties, and 200% more defensive offside penalties on home teams than on road teams. Additionally, they have thrown all three of their roughing-the-passer flags this year on the home team. In contrast, all six of their penalties for illegal blocks above the waist have been on road teams.
MORE: Week 14 NFL Coverage Maps
Moving onto Monday Night Football and Smith’s crew has been far more favorable towards home teams than road teams on average. They average 4.75 penalties per game on home teams, compared to 6.33 penalties per game on road teams. In nine of their 12 games this season, Smith’s group has more penalties on road than home teams.
While Smith’s crew is not particularly high on the list for many individual penalties, the ones that they have a wide home-road split on are intriguing. They are reasonably balanced when it comes to most penalties that they have thrown flags for on more than five occasions. However, they have 73% more false start penalties and 75% more offensive holding penalties on road teams this year.