The Kansas City Chiefs will be taking on the Buffalo Bills in a divisional round matchup to decide who will face the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship game, and the head referee for the game is Shawn Hochuli.
Shawn Hochuli, who is the son of legendary NFL referee Ed Hochuli, has a checkered past with the Bills. Bills fans are not happy that Hochuli will be calling the game.
Good morning to literally everyone on any planet in any universe who has ever or will ever exist except Shawn Hochuli. Go Bills
— Stuckey (@Stuckey2) January 21, 2024
Shawn Hochuli in the bathroom on Sunday morning pic.twitter.com/Bk9O5XBEk6
— Stuckey (@Stuckey2) January 19, 2024
Shawn Hochuli gets the referee assignment for Bills Chiefs. Excuse me while I throw my phone
— Scott (@Big98Pun) January 16, 2024
The data behind the Buffalo Bills with Shawn Hochuli as their referee, and how it will affect the game against the Kansas City Chiefs
The most notable impact Hochuli had on a Bills game in recent memory is when the Bills lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in a late-November overtime thriller.
The last time Shawn Hochuli’s crew officiated a Bills game, I made a highlight reel of all the best calls pic.twitter.com/cE7UaECYok
— Circling The Wagons Podcast (@CTWpod) January 18, 2024
In an article from Bleacher Report, Bills defensive back Jordan Poyer was outspoken about how he felt the Bills were done wrong by the officials.
“A lot. A lot. A lot,” Poyer said. “It seems like it’s been like that all season. Nothing’s being done about it. Officials aren’t being held accountable for their calls or no-calls. Players are getting fined during the week for silly stuff.
“It doesn’t seem like, I don’t know … It’s not an excuse, but it’s just the way the game is being played this year. Doesn’t seem like a whole lot of accountability for the officials.”
In the 124 Bills games coached by Sean McDermott, the Bills have had more than 10 penalties just 16 times. Hochuli has been the referee for four of those games, and the Bills have had more than 10 penalties in three of those four games.
The Bills average 10 penalties for 86.8 yards in games where Hochuli is the ref. In all other games, Hochuli and his crew average 6.46 penalties for 56 yards. The Bills sit atop of both categories in all games refereed by Hochuli since 2018.
Another statistic that could harm the Buffalo Bills in their divisional round matchup with the Chiefs is that they are tied for the most taunting penalties in 2023. Hochuli has called the most taunting penalties out of any referee in the league since 2018.
One important thing to note is that four games is not nearly a large enough sample size when considering Bills games for which Hochuli has been the referee. Hochuli is also not the end-all-be-all of calls made on the field. Penalties come from several referees, not just Hochuli.
The Kansas City Chiefs have a winning record with Hochuli as the referee, but is is not all good for them going into the game against the Buffalo Bills
In games refereed by Shawn Hochuli, the Kansas City Chiefs are 8-2. The Chiefs have also never lost a playoff game in which Hochuli is the referee.
The Chiefs have the only two home playoff victories in games refereed by Hochuli. Only three of the 10 Hochuli-refereed games that the Chiefs played in were away, and they are undefeated in those games.
Conversely, Hochuli is the only referee to call roughing the passer on the Chiefs throughout this entire season. Hochuli led the NFL in roughing the passer penalties this season, and Bills quarterback Josh Allen has had the most roughing the passers called on his behalf out of any NFL QBs this season.
Hochuli has also called the fewest unnecessary roughness penalties this season, which is a penalty in which the Bills lead the league.
Most notably, the Bills-Chiefs game from earlier this year was decided by a controversial offensive offsides penalty that erased what would have been a cross-field lateral from tight end Travis Kelce to wide receiver Kadarius Toney.
The Chiefs had a beautiful play drawn up that included a lateral from Kelce to Toney
The play was called back due to Toney lining up in the neutral zone 🤦♂️
Bills win and keep their playoff hopes alive
— SportSociety (@SportSocietyUSA) December 11, 2023
Hochuli, who has been a referee since 2018, has never called an offensive offside penalty in his career.
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