4 officiating observations from Wild Card Weekend, 2024

Six wild card games can be a little over-stimulating (and toss in some college football semifinals) and it was a whirlwind weekend of football.

Here are a few things I noticed this weekend

1. Alternates out of position

Initially, referee Tra Blake and side judge Jim Quirk were slated to be alternate umpires. During the regular season, umpires Bruce Stritesky, Carl Paganelli and Alex Moore (Week 18 injury in 49ers-Cardinals fight), were injured and the NFL is thin at playoff-qualified umpires. As we looked closely over the weekend, we saw some evidence that some umpires doubled up alternate assignments – an advantage of multiple days of playoffs. We had a hard time confirming these alternates as they were wearing jackets and we couldn’t confirm jersey numbers. But in the end, Blake and Quirk were not on the sidelines as alternate umpires this past weekend. Other umpires doubled up on alternate assignments. Duane Heydt and Barry Anderson pulled the double wild card duty.

But, be on the lookout this weekend. There is evidence of more alternates alternating out of position in the upcoming divisional round.

2. First playoff assignments for four officials

Congratulations to referee Land Clark on his first on field playoff assignment. Clark is in his seventh year. His first two years were as a field judge and the rest have been at referee. Also, congratulations to field judge Sean Petty, down judge Dale Keller and side judge Frank Steratore for getting their first playoff assignment in their first year eligible for the post-season.

3. Call of the weekend: Jimmy Russell

The back judge had to rule on ball control and the feet landing in bounds. While in real time the feet looked suspect, replay showed the receiver with both feet down and ball control. Replay upheld Russell’s call and he gets a gold star.

4. A quick U-Turn

Nice work by umpire Terry Killens and the line judge Tom Eaton to do a quick turn and officiate this scoop and score. While fans were impressed with Jared Verse’s speed, the officials did a good job too!

It was an intense playoff weekend as 12-teams battled it out to survive and advance. The tension ratchets up another notch this weekend for the divisional playoffs. We wish all officials the best as they continue the post-season.