Better bring a snack on Sunday.
Many NFL fans are thrilled that the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs will once again meet in the playoffs — and this time in the AFC Championship for the right to head to Super Bowl LIX. The Bills travel to Kansas City to take on the two-time reigning Super Bowl Champions, with designs on stopping a three-peat, and rewriting their franchise history.
As much as NFL fans want the game to be decided by the players on the field, we know that’s usually not the case simply because officials tend to squeeze their way in. Consider Sunday’s Bills-Chiefs referee assignment: Clete Blakeman.
Blakeman is entering his 16th playoff game as the head official. Unlike in the Divisional Round where head referee Carl Cheffers’ crew called the least amount of penalties in the league, Blakeman’s crew leads the league in 252 total penalties during the 2024 NFL season.
Importantly, in the postseason the NFL mixes and matches crews. So even though Blakeman is the lead official, he won’t have the same exact crew he worked with during the regular season.
The good news for Bills Mafia is that Chief Kingdom isn’t entirely happy with Blakeman presiding over their quest for another trip to the Super Bowl. Kansas City is 6-5 working with Blakeman, which is the Chiefs’ worst wining percentage among any of the NFL officiating crews.
Some years back, Blakeman was the official when the Chiefs played the New England Patriots in the postseason — a game where quarterback Tom Brady saw his way to some favorable calls.
Blakeman worked the game in Orchard Park, NY between the Bills and New York Jets in Week 17. That matchup featured 23 total penalties. At times it felt like the action was dragging on, with no end in sight.
Does that mean more of the same on Sunday evening? We’ll find out soon enough!
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