NFL officiating was a storyline again last week, with NFL senior V.P. of officiating Walt Anderson popping up on Monday Night Football to explain a non-call of intentional grounding early in the game. Anderson’s explanation contradicted what ESPN rules analyst John Parry said should have been called.
NFL fans were not pleased with Anderson’s rare appearance to explain a call and wondered what prompted him to be on the broadcast. We will see if there are more appearances by Anderson this week or if Monday was just a one-time occasion.
Let’s take a look at the officiating assignments for this week.
NFL Referee Assignments for Week 9
All times Eastern and game day Sunday unless stated otherwise. All penalty stat information is courtesy of NFLPenalties.com.
- Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins | 9:30 a.m.
Clay Martin - Minnesota Vikings at Atlanta Falcons | 1 p.m.Â
Shawn Smith - Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Packers | 1 p.m.Â
Clete Blakeman - Washington Commanders at New England Patriots | 1 p.m.Â
Adrian Hill - Seattle Seahawks at Baltimore Ravens | 1 p.m.Â
Shawn Hochuli - Arizona Cardinals at Cleveland Browns | 1 p.m.Â
Carl Cheffers - Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Houston Texans | 1 p.m.Â
Land Clark - Chicago Bears at New Orleans Saints | 1 p.m.Â
Ron Torbert - Indianapolis Colts at Carolina Panthers | 4:05 p.m.Â
Bill Vinovich - New York Giants at Las Vegas Raiders | 4:25 p.m.Â
Alan Eck - Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles | 4:25 p.m.Â
Tra Blake - Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals | 8:20 p.m.Â
Alex Kemp - Los Angeles Chargers at New York Jets | 8:15 p.m. (Monday)
Craig Wrolstad
Clay Martin will be the referee for the Miami Dolphins and Kansas Chiefs in Frankfurt, Germany. His crew averages an NFL-low 9.43 penalties per game, while the two teams are averaging six calls against them each game. Martin’s crew called their season high for penalties (13) during the Dolphins’ 70-20 win over the Broncos in Week 3.
Tra Blake and his crew are in Philadelphia for the huge NFC East showdown between the Cowboys and Eagles. Blake’s crew has called the third-most penalties per game (over 14), including 22 flags during a Week 1 Ravens-Texans game.
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The Cowboys have had around seven penalties called against them, while the Eagles have only had less than five calls against them per contest. Philadelphia has had three penalties or fewer in four of eight games this season.
The Sunday night matchup features the Bills, who have had the most penalties called against them, against the Bengals, who have been called for the fewest infractions. Buffalo enters Week 9 with the 49ers with 55 accepted penalties called against in eight games, and Cincinnati has only had 31 accepted penalties against in seven games.
Another element to watch in Cincinnati is Alex Kemp’s crew, who leads the NFL with over 15 penalties called a game. In seven contests, the away team has had almost three more penalties accepted than the home team when Kemp’s crew is officiating. In four of the seven games, the away team had at least five more penalties called against them.
Each season, officials are assigned to referees from the NFL’s officiating roster. You can see the full crews for the 2023 season in our handy guide.
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