Browns-Chiefs game draws a playoff rookie at referee
Most of the Cleveland Browns players got their first taste of playoff football last weekend. This weekend, the man in charge of the officiating crew will experience being the referee for a postseason game for the first time.
Clay Martin heads up the officiating crew for Sunday’s game between the Browns and the Chiefs in Kansas City. He’s in his third year as a referee but this is his first playoff assignment at that spot. He did work a previous playoff game as an umpire.
The NFL breaks up the crews from the regular season and cobbles together something of an all-star crew based on merit to officiate the postseason. Martin himself was the referee for one Browns game this year, the Week 4 win over Dallas. He helmed two Chiefs games, including their matchup against Carolina where 20 penalties were assessed.
Notable in the breakdown of what Martin’s crew called: they threw 10 flags for personal fouls but did not assess a single taunting penalty.
