
The Kansas City Chiefs are set to open their postseason this weekend against the Houston Texans, with all eyes on them as they aim to secure a historic third consecutive Super Bowl. The Chiefs, entering the playoffs with a 15-2 record, will be heavily scrutinized, including the referees officiating their games. The NFL announced the referee assignments for this weekend’s games on Monday, and many fans expressed frustration with the choice of referee for the first AFC playoff game on Saturday.
Veteran referee Clay Martin will officiate the Chiefs-Texans game. Martin, in his 10th year as an NFL official and seventh as a referee, has officiated six Chiefs games since Patrick Mahomes became the starting quarterback in 2018, with Kansas City winning all of them. This has raised concerns among some fans about the possibility of the league favoring the Chiefs. However, other fans have pointed out that due to the Chiefs’ consistent success over the past seven years, it’s difficult to find referees who have worked games where Kansas City lost regularly.
Martin’s most recent playoff appearance as a referee was four years ago when he officiated the Chiefs’ divisional-round win against the Browns. He also refereed the Texans’ playoff victory over Cleveland in the wild-card round last year. For this postseason, Martin will not be working with his usual crew, as the NFL assigns different crew combinations for playoff games.
Here are the full officiating details for the Chiefs-Texans playoff game:
- Referee: Clay Martin
- Umpire: Scott Campbell
- Down Judge: Kent Payne
- Line Judge: Walter Flowers
- Field Judge: Jason Ledet
- Side Judge: James Coleman
- Back Judge: Greg Yatte
- Replay Official: Matt Sumstine
- Replay Assistant: Tim England
This crew consists of nine officials from six different crews during the 2024 regular season, meaning while Martin has officiated many Chiefs wins, it’s not necessarily the case for the other officials on the crew.