7-year veteran NFL referee John Hussey and his crew have been assigned as the officials for the Kansas City Chiefs’ divisional-round game against the Buffalo Bills according to Football Zebras.
This would have been the third time the team has pulled Hussey this season, but he didn’t actually officiate back in Week 17 against the Cincinnati Bengals, even though he was originally assigned to the game. Instead, Ron Torbert was an unscheduled white hat substitution for Hussey at the last minute. Chiefs fans are well aware of how the officiating went in that game.
While Hussey didn’t officiate the Bengals game, a couple of members of his crew did. Side judge Allen Baynes, line judge Carl Johnson and umpire Alan Eck all officiated Week 17 and will be back on the field for the divisional round. The side judge was particularly problematic for Kansas City back in Week 17, so that will be something to watch for this week. The rest of the crew is comprised of members from Brad Allen, Tony Corrente and Shawn Smith’s crews.
The one regular-season game that Hussey’s crew officiated this season was the Chiefs-Cowboys game. That was the game where Clyde Edwards-Helaire received a taunting penalty for whipping out his index finger and pointing. That said, in 16 games this season, Hussey’s crew has called the fourth-fewest penalties at 172. False start (40) and offensive holding (38) have been called at the highest rate with defensive pass interference coming in at a distant third (17). The false start rate is probably a good thing for Sunday, given the roaring Arrowhead Stadium crowd.
Kansas City is 4-2 all-time with Hussey as the referee, while Buffalo is just 3-5 all-time. The only playoff game that Hussey and his crew have officiated for the Chiefs was the 31-13 win over the Indianapolis Colts back in the 2018-2019 playoffs.