The NFL announced its head referees for this weekend’s wild-card round of playoff games, and one choice stands out from the rest. It’ll be Bill Vinovich refereeing Sean Payton’s first playoff game with the Denver Broncos, who are visiting the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Jan. 12 for a Noon CT/1 p.m. ET kickoff.
Vinovich, of course, was head referee for the 2019 NFC championship game — an officiating crew that infamously blew the biggest call of the season. Vinovich has refereed the Super Bowl since then, but he hasn’t returned to New Orleans given the very public outcry about his mistake. He’ll be working another playoff game this Sunday with Payton simmering on the sideline.
It isn’t the first time they’ve crossed paths, either. Vinovich was the head referee for Payton’s first game as Broncos head coach, fouling Denver for an illegal touch on a surprise onside kick (sound familiar?). The Broncos lost that game 17-16.
His crew is known for keeping their flags in their pockets. Only John Hussey’s group threw more penalty markers this season (201) than Vinovich’s crew (207). Payton’s Broncos have drawn 108 fouls (19th) for 941 yards (10th-most), while benefiting from just 81 penalties on their opponents (5th-fewest) for 670 yards (6th-fewest).
In comparison, the Bills have been fouled 112 times (12th-most) for a loss of 833 yards (13th-fewest), and they’ve benefited from 110 calls (4th-most) for 998 yards (5th-best) on their opponents. But as we’ve seen before, sometimes it’s the flags that aren’t thrown which make the biggest impact.