Six wild card games in three days, including a triple header one day! Whew! Six crews, 42 on field officials, and lots of calls. Here are a few thoughts about the weekend. 1. Mistakes happen no matter the experience The Raiders-Bengals game featured an erroneous whistle (formerly called an inadvertent whistle). While
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Fred Swearingen, referee for the Immaculate Reception, passes away
Frederick Swearingen 1921-2016 Former NFL referee and field judge Fred Swearingen, who presided over the Immaculate Reception, passed away Dec. 16, 2016, at the age of 95. Swearingen was a NFL field judge (now back judge) and referee from 1960 until 1980. A native of Ohio, Swearingen served in the Navy during
50 Super Bowl calls, Part 4: XX to XI
50 Super Bowl calls, Part 3: XXX to XXI
50 Super Bowl calls, Part 2: XL to XXXI
50 Super Bowl calls, Part 1: L to XLI
Seahawks get unintentional benefit, and no penalty, for back-to-back timeouts
Week 1 Officiating Video: Pop-up, timeout, ball down
Dean Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating, began the season today by explaining calls in Week 1 of the 2015 NFL season in the weekly video for the media (download). Some highlights included:In overtime in St. Louis, the officials, according to Blandino, correctly ruled that there was a valid
The anatomy of an overturned call
View image | gettyimages.com There is a well-defined process to overturning a call This past weekend, the Lions-Cowboys playoff game was marked by the crew picking up a pass interference flag against the Lions, setting off a huge uproar. Football officials have a set protocol that occurs before changing a call. How do