nfl referee assignments 2022 week 2

NFL Week 2 Officiating Angles: Finding Edges in Ravens-Bengals, Chiefs-Jaguars and Browns-Steelers

This brand-new column at SportsLine started 2-1 as officiating angles helped us cash Under 44 in Raiders-Broncos and the Buccaneers (+5.5) over the Vikings. We totally whiffed on the Steelers (+2.5) vs. the 49ers.

This season, Joe Gibbs (not the Hall of Fame coach, the NFL referee expert who tweets @NFLrefstats) is collaborating with SportsLine to provide weekly officiating angles. He analyzes the NFL referee assignments from the moment they are released each Tuesday.

Before you make any Week 2  NFL picks  or NFL parlays, you need to see what Gibbs and SportsLine senior analyst Larry Hartstein have to say about the officiating crews' tendencies.

A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources with an analytical approach he honed working for Pro Football Focus. Larry tied for 52nd place (out of 1,598 entries) in the 2022 Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, going 53-34-3 ATS. Those selections formed the basis of his SportsLine NFL best bets, which finished 36-26-1 last season and began the 2023 season 2-1.

We can tell you Hartstein and Gibbs are laying -3 (-122) with the Bengals over the visiting Ravens. Baltimore will be without starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley and starting center Tyler Lindenbaum, who were injured in the Week 1 win over Houston.

That doesn't bode well with Shawn Hoculi as the referee. "Hochuli called 42% of his overall penalties on the offensive line via false start and offensive holding flags in 2022, and currently sits tied for No. 1 in calling offensive holding penalties after one week of the 2023 season," Gibbs noted.

Hartstein also is sharing key officiating angles in Chiefs-Jaguars and Browns-Steelers. You need to see this key referee data before locking in your picks!

So which side of Chiefs-Jaguars has the edge ? And what other officiating edges can be found on the Week 2 slate ? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Larry Hartstein's Week 1 NFL officiating trends, all from the expert who went 53-34-3 in the SuperContest last year !

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Thursday, Sep. 22

• Steelers at Browns —  Clay Martin

Sunday, Sep. 25

• Saints at Panthers  —  Carl Cheffers
• Texans at Bears  —  Clete Blakeman
• Chiefs at Colts  —  Shawn Smith
• Bills at Dolphins  —  Alex Kemp
• Lions at Vikings  —  John Hussey
• Ravens at Patriots  —  Bill Vinovich
• Bengals at Jets  —  Jerome Boger
• Raiders at Titans  —  Brad Rogers
• Eagles at Commanders  —  Ron Torbert
• Jaguars at Chargers  —  Craig Wrolstad
• Rams at Cardinals  —  Adrian Hill
• Falcons at Seahawks  —  Tra Blake
• Packers at Buccaneers  —  Scott Novak
• 49ers at Broncos —  Shawn Hochuli

Monday, Sep. 26

• Cowboys at Giants —  Land Clark

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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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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Assignments Week 2

2024 UFL season Assignments

Assignments Super Bowl LVIII

2023 Conference Championships Assignments

Assignments Commentary Super Bowl LVIII

2023 Divisional Playoffs Assignments

2023 Wild Card Playoffs Assignments

Assignments Week 18, 2023

Assignments Week 17, 2023

Assignments Week 16, 2023

Assignments

Week 2 referee assignments.

Scott Novak is on deck for this Thursday night’s game between the Giants and Washington.

Scott Novak and his crew are on deck for this Thursday night’s contest between the Giants and Washington. Alex Kemp’s crew is off this week.

Scheduled assignments are subject to change.

Thursday, Sep. 16

• Giants at WAS Football Team   NFLN  â€” Scott Novak

Sunday, Sep. 19

• Patriots at Jets  â€” Shawn Hochuli
• Broncos at Jaguars  â€” Clay Martin
• Bills at Dolphins  â€” Craig Wrolstad
• 49ers at Eagles  â€” Brad Allen
• Rams at Colts  â€” Shawn Smith
• Raiders at Steelers  â€” Jerome Boger
• Bengals at Bears  â€” Land Clark
• Texans at Browns  â€” Brad Rogers
• Saints at Panthers  â€” Ron Torbert
• Vikings at Cardinals  â€” Bill Vinovich
• Falcons at Buccaneers  â€” Carl Cheffers
• Titans at Seahawks  â€” John Hussey
• Cowboys at Chargers  â€” Tony Corrente
• Chiefs at Ravens   NBC  â€” Clete Blakeman

Monday, Sep. 20

• Lions at Packers   ESPN  â€” Adrian Hill

Week 2 officiating liveblog

Week 1 referee assignments

Cam Filipe is a forensic scientist from Massachusetts and has been involved in football officiating for 11 years. Cam is in his third season as a high school football official. This is his eighth season covering NFL officiating for Football Zebras.

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UFL Week 1 officiating assignments

United Football League has rules that depart from traditional football

Scorecard of the 2024 NFL owners meetings [live updates]

Competition Committee wants an XFL-style kickoff and to abolish the hip-drop tackle

New rules proposed by teams are direct from the recycle bin

Happy 95th birthday to the Dean of Referees Jim Tunney

Another busy offseason for NFL officiating

Competition Committee adds Sean McDermott and Sean McVay, leaving former players underrepresented

Super Bowl LVIII photo album

5 observations from Super Bowl LVIII

Super Bowl LVIII: 49ers vs. Chiefs

Let’s meet the Super Bowl LVIII crew in photos

Rules review video: Kick catch interference, invalid fair catch signal, and penalty enforcements

Jaire Alexander suspended one game by Packers for not knowing coin flip rules

Injury ends the season for down judge Derick Bowers

Rules review video: Roughing the kicker, forced touching, and kick catch interference

Week 3 referee assignments

Week 7 referee assignments

Week 4 referee assignments

2023-24 bowl officiating assignments

Week 8 referee assignments

Week 17 referee assignments

Week 6 referee assignments

Week 12 referee assignments

Rules review video: Touching the pylon, ball carrier down, and targeting with the lights out

Rules review video: Unconventional handoffs, unnecessary roughness, and roughing the passer

Rules review video: Scrimmage kick advancement, targeting, and blocking below the waist

Rules School: Officiating mechanics at the end of the half

Rules review video: Targeting, replay tools, and an experiment with the kickoff line

Rules review video: Illegal forward pass, illegal touching, and simulated kneeldowns

Rules review video: Defensive pass interference, coaches on the field, and defense re-establishing in bounds

Rules review video: Safeties, replay calling penalties, and kicks over the uprights

‘Exceptional situational awareness’ highlights the Call of the Week

Rules review video: Intentional grounding, targeting, and horse-collar tackles

2024 UFL season: What to know about lineups, rules, more

I n 2021, actor Larry David began a comedic sports crusade. Appearing on "The Rich Eisen Show," David called for the abolition of goalposts on professional football fields .

"Why are there goalposts?" David ranted. "Why are kickers [on the team]? They don't have football skills. They're not football players. I'm sure they're wonderful people, but they're not football players. Why are they kicking the ball through goalposts to decide games? It doesn't make any sense at all!"

Nearly three years later, David sought out a man he thought could put his vision into reality. (Or at least appreciate and engage in the bit.) He tracked down Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, a fellow entertainer who also happens to own a portion of the United Football League, the product of a 2023 merger between the USFL and XFL .

"I heard about this UFL," David said this month in a return appearance on Eisen's show , providing the newly branded league the best free publicity it could have asked for. "I pitched him my idea and I thought it was going to happen. He was completely into it."

Alas, the UFL will in fact have goalposts when its eight teams kick off its 10-week season on Saturday. But David's gag cemented an undeniable truth about spring football. It's where pro football innovations arise, from rule changes to television production to the fundamental idea of how and when the game should be played.

The XFL produced the foundation of a revamped kickoff the NFL will adopt this season . The USFL, which entered the marketplace in 2022 alongside the XFL, demonstrated the depth of interest. While it is still unclear whether the business of spring football is sustainable, it is now entering the second half of a near-continuous decade of play. This spring, all 43 of the UFL's games will be televised on either ABC, Fox, ESPN, FS1 or ESPN2 and streamed on either ESPN+ or the Fox Sports app.

ESPN reported on the basics of the league before training camps started and as the season arrives, here are 10 elements of the UFL of which you should be aware.

Talent level has likely increased

This spring will mark the fifth time in six years that a spring football league has at least started a season, from the AAF (2019) to the XFL (2020 and 2023) to the USFL (2022, 2023). Johnston believes that trend has created a favorable environment for attracting players who might have otherwise stayed home and awaited calls from NFL teams. That includes former NFL players such as pass-rusher Taco Charlton and running back Wayne Gallman , who are rostered with Birmingham and St. Louis, respectively.

Last winter's merger, meanwhile, cut the number of roster spots available in 2024 by roughly 50% compared to last spring. When you put those factors together, the UFL should be more talented than the recent spring leagues that preceded it.

"Every single head coach and general manager has talked about how challenging the cut-downs were," said Johnston, who worked for the AAF, XFL and USFL before joining the UFL. "I feel very, very comfortable about the depth we have. That's an area where we've improved. ... We used to be on the phone saying to players, 'Let us help change the way the NFL views you. Let's put 10 games of film on tape.' We don't have to make as many of those calls."

Johnston said the most notable improvement has come at offensive line. "There were some body types that we had in training camp," he said, "that we had just not seen on a consistent basis before."

There are recognizable quarterbacks

The UFL will feature a mix of players well-known to spring league and college football fans. Some teams were still holding competitions as the week ended, but confirmed starters include:

• Luis Perez (Arlington)
• Jordan Ta'amu (D.C.)
• AJ McCarron (St. Louis)
• Case Cookus (Memphis)
• Jarrett Guarantano (Houston)

Two notable running backs won't play this season

First, veteran Bo Scarbrough -- who saw time with four NFL teams from 2018 to 2021 before helping lead the Birmingham Stallions to consecutive USFL championships in 2022 and 2023 -- announced his retirement early in training camp.

In a memorable send-off quote, Scarbrough said: "You can love this game all you want. But at the end of the day, the game can't love you back because it's not a person. It's a ball. I have so much respect for the people still playing. And when it's your time, you'll know it's your time."

Then, D.C.'s Abram Smith suffered a torn left ACL during a training camp practice. Smith led the XFL with 788 rushing yards and seven touchdowns last season while helping the Defenders to the XFL Championship Game.

The most established fan bases are St. Louis and D.C.

XFL teams played in their home markets in both 2020 and 2023, and St. Louis made the strongest local connection by far. The Battlehawks averaged 28,000 in attendance over two games in the shortened 2020 season, then averaged 35,000 per home game at The Dome at America's Center in 2023 -- roughly three times the rest of the league. It's no surprise that the UFL chose St. Louis to host its 2024 championship game on June 16.

Fans at D.C.'s Audi Field, meanwhile, built an organic tradition of constructing "beer snakes" in the stands while averaging 14,000 at the 20,000-seat venue.

Johnston called St. Louis and D.C. the league's "stars" in terms of local popularity and has challenged the rest of the league to match them. USFL teams all played in Birmingham in 2022 and then moved to regional games in 2023. As a result, crowds could be spotty in some markets where single-game tickets only went on sale earlier this month.

"Attendance was probably our biggest challenge with everything coming together so late," Johnston said. "The big thing is we have to come out and play good football right away to get that hook set, to validate the commitment that people have already made and try to draw some new people in."

There won't be extra point kicks and overtime is unique

As in previous incarnations of spring football, the UFL will require teams to run an offensive play after touchdowns rather than line up for a kick. There will be three options. Teams can line up at:

• The 2-yard line for a 1-point try
• The 5-yard line for a 2-point try
• The 10-yard line for a 3-point try

The distinctive XFL kickoff won't be used

During negotiations to merge the two leagues' rule books, UFL officials decided to retain the USFL version that closely resembles the traditional NFL kickoff. In the UFL version, the kicker will spot the ball at the 20-yard line, all but eliminating the chance of a touchback and thus maximizing the number of returns. A kickoff that goes out of bounds will be spotted 30 yards from where the ball left the field.

In a twist of irony, the XFL's version -- which places most players downfield and requires them to stand still until the ball hits the ground or is fielded -- was the basis for a proposed revamp of the NFL kickoff, which was approved at the owners' meetings earlier this week.

Johnston previously said the USFL's injury data wasn't much different than the XFL's, and Blandino said there is nothing preventing the league from adjusting after the 2024 season. "It's not like we can't get through 2024 and work backward toward a more XFL-style kickoff," he said.

The UFL will use the NFL possession rule on receptions

Mirroring the USFL, the UFL will require receivers to have both feet in-bounds or land in-bounds with any other body part besides hands. The XFL had only required one foot, citing the positive impact it could have on the game's aesthetics and scoring totals. But Blandino said the UFL ultimately decided that requiring two feet was an important differentiator between pro and college football.

"We felt like with the talent and with the athletes that we have," he said, "we really wanted to go to the highest level and say, 'Hey, this is professional football. If you want to make it to the NFL, this is the rule you're going to be playing under.'"

The 'worst rule in football' won't exist

If an offensive player fumbles the ball into and out of the end zone, the offense will retain possession at the spot of the fumble. That is consistent with the USFL and XFL rules in 2023, but contrary to the way the NFL handles it -- by declaring a touchback and awarding the ball to the opposing team at the 20-yard line.

"We only had it once last year," Blandino said. "Whenever that happens in the NFL, there's a narrative of it being the worst rule in football. People hate it. And so we felt like we want to listen to our fans. It doesn't happen that often. So we've implemented that and we'll see how it goes."

Reviews will be televised

Both Fox and ABC/ESPN will cut to the league's off-site officiating command center whenever a review is underway. The UFL has given Blandino and fellow executive Mike Pereira the authority to stop the game, in the league's words, "if the play is reviewable, there is reasonable evidence to believe an error was made in the initial ruling and it would have a direct, competitive impact on the game."

Coaches have one challenge they can use to review any play, including a foul. They'll lose a timeout if the UFL rules against them.

This approach drew rave reviews in 2023, both for the way it helped fans learn league rules and also the transparency into decisions that affect the outcome of games. In the XFL, they averaged 51 seconds in duration.

"We anticipate we should stay within a 60-second time window," Blandino said.

Coaches stayed on, but some officials moved to the NFL

All eight of the UFL's head coaches worked in either the XFL or USFL last season. Six returned to their same spots while two -- Memphis' John DeFilippo and San Antonio's Wade Phillips -- shifted to accommodate the merger. The other assignments remain:

• Birmingham: Skip Holtz
• Houston: Curtis Johnson
• Michigan: Mike Nolan
• Arlington: Bob Stoops
• D.C.: Reggie Barlow
• St. Louis: Anthony Becht