Chiefs pull referee crew that leads NFL in unnecessary roughness penalties

Fourth-year NFL referee Land Clark and his crew have been assigned to the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Minnesota Vikings game in Week 5 per Football Zebras.

Clark hasn't officiated a Chiefs game since the 2021 NFL season when they defeated the Eagles 42-30 at Lincoln Financial Field. Kansas City has a 2-0 record with Clark as the white hat. You have to go even further back to find the last time that Clark officiated a Vikings game. That was a 27-24 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in overtime.

Through four games this season Clark and his crew have notched 55 accepted penalties, which is good for the fifth-most in the NFL so far this season. His crew also has one of the lowest dismissed/overturned penalty rates in the NFL this season.

Clark and his crew have called unnecessary roughness penalties (6) at the highest rate in the NFL so far this season. This crew is near the top of the league in offensive holding penalties (13) and they've called three more on the home team (8) than they have on the away team (5).

This crew has not called a single illegal formation penalty this season, which should be good news for Chiefs RT Jawaan Taylor. They're also middle-of-the-pack in the NFL so far this season when it comes to false starts, which also spells good news for Taylor. 

One area where this crew hasn't been throwing a lot of flags is in the secondary. Defensive pass interference, defensive holding, and illegal contact calls are all below league average. They are tied for the third-most offensive pass interference penalties so far this season, so don't expect Vikings WR Justin Jefferson (or any other players for that matter) to get away with many push-offs.