Clete Blakeman and NFL Ref Playoff Assignments for 2025 Conference Championship Round
January 20, 2025
The referee assignments for the 2025 conference championships have been set.
Shawn Hochuli will officiate the NFC Championship Game between the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles, while Clete Blakeman will referee the AFC title game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
The conference championships begin Sunday when the Eagles and Commanders kick off in Philadelphia at 3 p.m. ET.
Blakeman's crews (252 penalties in 16 games) and Hochuli's crews (221 penalties in 16 games) have two of the highest penalty totals in the NFL this season, according to NFL Penalty Data.
Crews led by Blakeman handed out 133 penalty yards per game, while Hochuli's averaged about 113 each contest.
NFL Penalty Data @NFLPenaltiesComReferee crews with the most penalties in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFL</a> 2024 (As of week 20)<br><br>Clete Blakeman: 252 penalties/2128 yards/289 flags<br>Craig Wrolstad: 252/2092/302<br>Ron Torbert: 235/1958/285<br>Alex Kemp: 231/1898/265<br>Shawn Hochuli: 221/1811/274<br><br>Click for stats on all refs:<a href="https://t.co/yteSssGNgf">https://t.co/yteSssGNgf</a>
The NFC title contest will mark the first time Hochuli has been tabbed to lead an officiating crew during a conference championship game, according to Football Zebras.
He has previously refereed eight playoff games, including a Wild Card game and seven Divisional round contests, per Football Zebras.
Blakeman has meanwhile led officiating crews for 15 prior postseason contests, including five conference championships, per Football Zebras. Most recently he refereed the 2024 NFC Championship Game between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers.
Blakeman also served as referee during Super Bowl 50 between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers after the 2015 season.
According to The Athletic's Mike Sando, the Chiefs have a 6-5 record all-time with Blakeman as their lead referee. He led the officiating crew when the Chiefs lost to the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day during the 2023 season.
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