Fourth-year NFL referee Shawn Smith and an all-star crew have been assigned as the officials for the Kansas City Chiefs’ wild-card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night according to Football Zebras.
This marks Smith’s sixth assignment during postseason play and his fourth time officiating a wild-card game as either an umpire or a referee. It also marks the third time this season that Smith will have officiated a game for Kansas City.
He was assigned to the Chiefs-Packers game in Week 9. During that game, Smith’s crew called their fourth-fewest penalties of the season (10) with six against Kansas City and four against Green Bay. He was also assigned to the Chiefs-Chargers game on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 15. During that game, Smith’s crew called the third-fewest penalties of the season (9) with five penalties on the Los Angeles and four on Kansas City.
During the NFL’s regular season, Smith’s crew called false starts (34), offensive holding (24), defensive pass interference (21) and offensive pass interference (10) at the highest rates. The pass interference penalties are ones to watch with the amount of YOLO passes that Ben Roethlisberger threw against K.C. back in Week 16.
Home teams have a 7-9 record with Smith’s crew this season. The Steelers have a 3-3 record when Smith officiates their games, while the Chiefs have a 3-0 all-time record. Obviously, things will be a little different this time around with an all-star crew comprised of members from Tony Corrente, Brad Rogers, Clete Blakeman, Bill Vinovich, Shawn Hochuli and Alex Kemp’s crews. Generally speaking, officiating tends to ease up in the playoffs and only the most blatant of calls are flagged.