Does the NFL want Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl? The referee assignment for the AFC Championship Game would suggest it does.
Referee Shawn Smith and his crew have drawn the assignment of officiating Sunday’s AFC title game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens.
What makes Smith a curious choice is that — based on home/road records — has been the road-friendly referee in the NFL during the 2023-24 season.
And that, of course, would favor the Kansas City Chiefs, whose games have become must-see TV for their constant cutaways to the international superstar every time her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, catches a pass.
The Chiefs’ 24-21 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday was the most watched playoff game in NFL history.
Related: Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens: Top 3 storylines for AFC Championship Game
2023 NFL home teams win less with Smith officiating
The home team has gone 3-13 (.188) in the 16 games Smith has officiated, by far the lowest percentage of home victories among the 17 referees. Land Clark is the next closest, with home teams winning 25 percent of the time.
Here’s an even deeper look into Smith’s numbers as they relate to points against the spread.
By comparison, home teams are 10-6 (.625) in games officiated by Clete Blakeman, whose crew is assigned to the NFC Championship Game between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif.
Sunday will mark Smith’s second conference championship game and eighth postseason assignment overall in six seasons as an NFL referee.
Smith, 50, has officiated one game for the Chiefs and the Ravens this season, and in both cases, the road teams won. In Week 11, the Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 21-17, at Arrowhead Stadium, when the Eagles rallied back from a 10-point halftime deficit. Meanwhile, Smith also handled the Ravens’ 23-7 Week 15 road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On average, Smith’s crew calls 0.81 more penalties per game against home teams than it does road teams, the second-highest disparity among NFL referees.
The only referee whose crew averages more home penalties (+1.35) is Clay Martin, who’s been assigned to serve as the alternate referee to Smith on Sunday.