NFL assigns referee Shawn Hochuli to Week 4’s Saints-Bucs game
Here’s your weekly referee assignment: the NFL will send Shawn Hochuli and his crew to officiate the New Orleans Saints’ upcoming game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Hochuli has worked as a referee since 2018. The Saints have gone 2-4 in games with Hochuli on the field, while the Buccaneers have a record of 5-3. Hochuli was on hand for last season’s Bucs win in New Orleans, too.
Right now Hochuli’s crew is averaging 11.7 penalty flags thrown per game, which is tied for the seventh-fewest around the league. Their 97.7 penalty yards per game are seventh-lowest, too (out of 17 officiating crews). They’ve penalized home teams 18 times and visitors 17 times through three weeks. But which penalties do the Saints need to be most mindful of?
Hochuli’s crew has fouled teams for offensive holding 10 times to this points in the season, by far their most-common penalty (defensive holding is second with 5 fouls). For the most part they’ve stayed out of the way and let players, well, play. Let’s hope that trend continues on Sunday.
