Nationwide flight issues will force NFL official to referee two games on Sunday

Football fans might not be very familiar with the name Don Willard, but they will be by the end of the day on Sunday.

Willard typically serves as the side judge on referee Scott Novak's crew, but is going to be promoted into an emergency referee role on Sunday.

For two games. 

On the same day.

Including the biggest game of the day in the biggest TV time slot. 

Why side judge Don Willard is being forced to referee two games on Sunday

While the travel plans for NFL teams have not been affected by Friday's temporary nationwide groundstop for flights, it has had a significant impact on getting a lot of the officials (who fly commercial, not chartered) to their previously designated games.

That forced the NFL to rely on three backup referees for Sunday's games. 

That includes Willard, who will be refereeing two different games.

After serving as the referee for the Miami Dolphins vs. Indianapolis Colts game in the 1 p.m. ET time slot, Willard will then drive 110 miles (about 90 minutes to two hours, depending on traffic) to Cincinnati, where he will then serve as the referee for the massive AFC North game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers. That game has an 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff. 

The NFL said in a statement announcing the changes that "each of the league’s 17 officiating crews has a backup referee identified, and that individual trains throughout the year to work at the referee position should the need arise."

Along with Willard, the other backup referees on Sunday will include Duane Heydt working the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers game, while Barry Anderson will work the Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans game. 

Willard was supposed to have the week off as Novak's crew was not scheduled for any games this week.

Now he is working two games, in a role he has never done before, with a two-hour drive in between.

Talk about putting in overtime. 

It is a bizarre, unprecedented story, but it is also going to put an even bigger focus and spotlight on officiating for some of these games. Especially the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh game, which might be the biggest game on the NFL schedule this week, and will definitely have the most eyes on it. If anything goes wrong from an officiating standpoint, or if there is any sort of controversial call or ruling, it is going to create some chaos. 

It is also something that is out of the league's hands, given the situation with no great options. Sometimes you just have to make the best of it and rely on backups. This is one of those instances. It certainly puts a lot of pressure on Willard for the second of those two games.