NFL Just Blessed Rams With Ref Assignment for Wild Card Game vs. Vikings
In a perfect world, you'd never even notice who the referee is for an NFL Playoff game. The stripes wouldn't have any significant impact on the outcome of the game, and there would be no controversy. Of course, you won't find many people accusing the NFL referees of existing "in a perfect world."
Referee assignments have been released for Wild Card Weekend, and the assignment for Monday's game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings is one that may not exactly go unnoticed. And fortunately for Rams fans, it's likely to work in their favor.
John Hussey's Crew to Referee Rams vs. Vikings
Head referee John Hussey's crew has been assigned to officiate Rams-Vikings on Monday night. Hussey is in his 10th season as a head referee, and he has officiated eight playoff games since first taking on that role.
If Hussey has one clear calling card as a referee, it is a bias toward home teams. And this isn't just that home teams win more often or get called for fewer penalties in his games — those are trends that hold true leaguewide. But year after year he's consistently more favorable for home teams than league average. Here's some data (per Pro-Football-Reference):
Season | % of Penalties on Home Teams (Hussey) | % of Penalties on Home Teams (Average) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
2015 | 54.90% | 49.16% | +5.74% |
2016 | 55.36% | 46.68% | +6.68% |
2017 | 48.00% | 47.84% | +0.16% |
2018 | 43.72% | 49.03% | -5.31% |
2019 | 41.95% | 47.44% | -5.49% |
2020 | 47.51% | 48.28% | -0.77% |
2021 | 49.69% | 48.74% | +0.95% |
2022 | 44.72% | 47.05% | -2.33% |
2023 | 43.13% | 49.04% | -5.91% |
2024 | 48.59% | 49.12% | -0.53% |
So while Hussey for some reason skewed hugely in favor of road teams for his first two NFL seasons, that has undergone a massive shift. He's called fewer penalties than average against home teams in six of the last seven years.
Home teams also have a higher win percentage with Hussey officiating than the league average in every single one of those seven seasons. The differences over the last three years have been +14.25%, +26.21%, +15.44%. Home teams dominate when Hussey's crew is in charge.
The other notable thing about his crew is the low number of penalties called. They've called at least 1.5 fewer penalties per game than the league average in three of the last four years, with at least 10 penalty yards per game below average in five of the last six.
What better a combination could Rams fans ask for? A game in which the refs let the action play out without interfering too much, and when they do get involved it's usually in favor of the home team? That's pretty ideal.
The assignment is also great news for any bettors who are backing the Rams, who sit as 1.5-point home underdogs against the Vikings (per FanDuel Sportsbook). It's noteworthy that the spread started at 2.5 points on Monday morning.
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