The NFL officiating crews have been announced for the Wild Card round of the playoffs. The Ravens’ crew may be sticklers for Offensive Holding.
The officiating crew for the Ravens’ Divisional round game against the Buffalo Bills has been announced and they draw Carl Cheffers and crew. According to the nflpenalties.com, Cheffers crew officiated 16 games in 2024; they crew called the fewest penalties of any NFL officiating crew (180).
Cheffers’ crew officiated one Ravens game this season: Week 12 between the Los Angeles Chargers. In said game, the Ravens committed nine penalties for 102 yards and were flagged a total of 10 times. The Chargers committed seven penalties for 62 yards and were flagged a total of 10 times.
Cheffers’ crew did not officiate a game for the Buffalo Bills in 2024.
Week 12 Penalty Log on Ravens
- Unnecessary Roughness — P. Ricard
- Unnecessary Roughness — N. Wiggins
- Illegal Formation — Unnamed
- Offensive Holding — P. Mekari
- Defensive Pass Interference — T. White (offsetting)
- Defensive Pass Interference — M. Humphrey
- Offensive Holding — T. Linderbaum
- Defensive Offside — O. Oweh
- Defensive Pass Interference — M. Humphrey
- Defensive Pass Interference — J. Armour-Davis
Cheffers’ Crew 2024 Season Penalty Log (Top 5 Infractions)
- Offensive Holding – 36
- False Start – 25
- Defensive Pass Interference – 23
- Defensive Holding — 18
- Delay of Game – 12
Similar to last week, the Ravens must remain technically sound as an offensive line to avoid holding calls. However, Cheffers’ crew called 23 fewer holding penalties than Alex Kemp’s crew, which officiated the Ravens vs. Steelers Wild Card team.
The Ravens’ secondary is the group that should be more cautious in this one. Kemp’s crew called just 12 DPIs. Cheffers’ crew nearly doubled their infractions.
Home vs. Away Stats (Per Game)
Offensive Holding
Home: 1.13
Away: 1.13
False Start
Home: 0.75
Away: 0.81
Defensive Pass Interference
Home: 0.75
Away: 0.69
Defensive Holding
Home: 0.44
Away: 0.69
Delay of Game
Home: 0.31
Away: 0.44
The splits indicate no significant jump between home and away stats. The largest difference in their top five infractions is the marginal gap in defensive holding. Overall, there’s no true bias being shown in the data.
Regarding if — or how the Ravens involve their game plan or coaching technique when it comes to officiating crews, Head Coach John Harbaugh said it’s a red herring.
“We don’t … People do push the envelope sometimes – I think that’s a strategy that people might use, and I’ve tried in the past to understand the officiating crew and how they might call a game, and I found it just to be a red herring,” Harbaugh said. “I just think it’s a waste of time. In the end, you need to focus on just doing things well the right way.”