Referee Report: Bengals Will Get One of NFL's Least Experienced Refs for Home Opener vs. Jaguars

CINCINNATI – One of the newest referees in the NFL will be on the call for the Cincinnati Bengals’ home opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Alan Eck became an NFL official in 2016 and was promoted to head referee in 2023.

He’s only worked one game since becoming a head referee, and that was the 2023 season finale against the Cleveland Browns, which the Bengals won 31-14.

Eck’s crew flagged Cincinnati once for 10 yards in the game. Cleveland had seven penalties for 35 yards.

Last year, Eck’s crew ranked 13th out of 17 in flags thrown per game with 11.63.

In his rookie season of 2023, Eck’s crew ranked 16th of 17 with 10.4 per game.

Eck’s Week 1 assignment was the Monday night game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears.

The game featured 20 penalties for 177 yards, with the host Bears drawing 12 for 127 while the Vikings had eight for 50.

While Eck has yet to draw a postseason assignment as a lead referee, he was an umpire on John Hussey’s crew for the wild 2021 Divisional Round game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.

The 42-36 Kansas City win that sent the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game, where they would fall to the Bengals, which featured just four total flags for 25 yards.