A new football season is set to kick off with the Philadelphia Eagles, the defending Super Bowl champions, squaring off against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. A rivalry of the ages writes its latest chapter with a ton of intrigue for both teams following a rather complex offseason.
However, as always, beyond the players on the field, a select crew of referees are going to play a critical role in the night’s proceedings. As the first game of the 2025 NFL regular season, there is going to be a ton of fanfare as all eyes of the sporting world turn to Philadelphia. Who does the NFL have in place to be the game’s referees in Week 1 of Thursday Night Football?
Who Is the Referee for Week 1 Thursday Night Football?
The officials have always been a major source of dissension amongst the NFL fanbase. However, over the last few years, in particular, that dissension has skyrocketed with criticism running rampant on social media.
As a result, the men in stripes assigned to each game are a major topic of deliberation for that team’s fans. This year seems to continue that trend with the first game of the season revisiting a classic rivalry.
As the referee crews for the first week were revealed, a lot of eyes were on the game between the Eagles and the Cowboys. On banner night, it was going to be as important a game as one could find throughout the regular season.
Understandably, the NFL went with the experience of Shawn Smith, who is entering his eighth season as a referee in the league. Before his tenure as a referee began, Smith held the umpire spot for three seasons.
He is also a ref that Philadelphia is very familiar with already. Last season, he called 17 games, including the Eagles’ 28-22 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs.
#NFL Week 1 referee assignments #DALvsPHI – Shawn Smith #KCvsLAC – Carl Cheffers #TBvsATL – Land Clark#MIAvsIND – Brad Allen #CARvsJAX – Alex Moore#CINvsCLE – Adrian Hill #LVvsNE – Ron Torbert #PITvsNYJ – Bill Vinovich #AZvsNO – Scott Novak#NYGvsWAS – Clay Martin… pic.twitter.com/M40qBzya3u
— nflrefstats (@nflrefstats1) September 2, 2025
Here is the full list of officials on Smith’s crew:
- Umpire: Tra Blake
- Down Judge: Jay Bilbo
- Line Judge: Jeff Seeman
- Field Judge: Dyrol Prioleau
- Side Judge: Boris Cheek
- Back Judge: Dino Paganelli
- Replay Official: Mike Wimmer
- Replay Assistant: Larry Hill Jr.
Last year, Smith’s crew was among the more conservative units when it came to penalties. They averaged 12.59 penalties per game for 97.65 penalty yards, slightly below the league average of 12.80 penalties and 103.67 penalty yards per game.
