The NFL has officially announced the two officiating crews that will be working the AFC and NFC title games this weekend.
The referee in the AFC title game oversaw an officiating crew that called the most penalties in 2024, while the referee in the NFC title game oversaw the officiating crew that called the fourth-most penalties per game.
Here's a look at the two refs:
NFC Championship ref: Shawn Hochuli
Hochuli, the son of the legendary Ed Hochuli, has worked a total of eight playoff games in his career, but this will mark the first time that he's worked a conference title game.
One notable thing about Hochuli is that his crew worked 16 games this year and there was an average of 13.8 penalties per game, which was the fourth-most in the NFL in 2024, according to NFLPenalties.com. Of course, Hochuli won't be working with his normal crew, so it's possible that number will be cut down.
Here's a look at how the Eagles and Commanders have fared over the past five years when Hochuli has served as the ref in one of their games (stats via Pro Football Reference).
- Commanders: 1-2 (1-0 in 2024)
- Eagles: 6-0 (1-0 in 2024)
Since the start of the 2021 season, Hochuli has only been the referee for one Commanders game and that came in Week 15 of the 2024 season when Washington beat New Orleans 20-19. Washington's two losses with Hochuli both came in 2020. Hochuli has been a referee since 2018 and the Eagles are 6-1 overall with him.
The NFC title game will be kicking off at 3 p.m. ET on Fox.

AFC Championship ref: Clete Blakeman
Blakeman is considered one of the best officials in the NFL, which is why he almost always gets the call to work as the referee in big games. The Bills-Chiefs game will mark the 16th postseason assignment of Blakeman's career, which already includes FIVE prior games as a conference title ref. Blakeman was also the referee for Super Bowl 50.
If the regular season was any indication, flags could be flying on Sunday. Blakeman's crew called the most penalties per game this year with an average of 15.8, according to NFLPenalties.com. As we mentioned with Hochuli, though, Blakeman won't be working with his normal crew, so it's possible that number will be cut down.
Here's a look at how the Bills and Chiefs have fared over the past five years when Blakeman has served as the ref in one of their games (stats via Pro Football Reference).
- Bills: 5-2 (1-0 in 2024)
- Chiefs: 3-4 (0-0 in 2024)
The last time Blakeman officiated a Chiefs game came all the way back on Christmas in 2023 when the Raiders pulled off a shocking 20-14 win over Kansas City. With fans complaining that the Chiefs are getting the benefit of unfair calls, it's interesting that the NFL has assigned a ref that the Chiefs have struggled to win with. Since Patrick Mahomes took over as the starting quarterback in Kansas City, the Chiefs are 5-6 with Blakeman.
Blakeman was the referee for two of the wildest losses of Mahomes' career: First, there was Kansas City's 54-51 loss to the Rams back in 2018. During the postseason that year, Blakeman was the ref for New England's 37-31 overtime win over the Chiefs in the AFC title game.
Including the playoffs, Mahomes has only lost 26 games in his career and Blakeman has been the ref for six of those.
The showdown between the Bills and the Chiefs will be kicking off on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS.