Fifth-year NFL referee Shawn Hochuli and his crew have been assigned as the officials for the Kansas City Chiefs’ game on “Sunday Night Football” against the Los Angeles Chargers according to Football Zebras.
You might remember Shawn’s father, Ed Hochuli, who was the league’s longest-tenured official before retiring ahead of the 2018 NFL season. Shawn was promoted to referee that year after serving as a back judge for several seasons prior.
This is the first time that Shawn has officiated a Chiefs game this season and the first time he’s officiated any game for Kansas City since their Week 3 loss to the Chargers last season. In total, he’s officiated six games for Kansas City since 2018 and the Chiefs have a 4-2 overall record in those games.
Hochuli’s crew has thrown 111 flags through nine games this season, good for the seventh-most in the NFL on the year. Their 22 dismissed penalties are tied with two other crews for the fourth-most this year. The crew has also called five more penalties on away teams than home teams this season.
Offensive holding (28) and false start (24) penalties are called by this crew at an overwhelming rate. Then comes defensive pass interference and defensive holding, which have both been called eight times by this crew in 2022. The Chiefs and Chargers are both tied (6) for the third-most defensive pass interference penalties by a team this season. They’re also tied for the fourth-most offensive holding penalties (12) and fewest defensive holding penalties (1). Where there is some disparity is the false starts. Los Angeles is tied for the sixth-most in the NFL (12), while Kansas City has the fewest in the NFL (4). Those false start penalties could end up being the biggest difference in officiating in this game, especially if Chiefs fans show up to SoFi Stadium as they have in the past.
