Steelers Face Intriguing Officiating Twist After FAA Ground Stop Forces Referee Change

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a crucial game coming up on Sunday Night Football as they face the Cincinnati Bengals in a contest that could end up determining who wins the AFC North. Both teams sit at 6-2, and barring a shocking back half of the season, the division race will likely come down to these two. A win gives Pittsburgh the season sweep over Cincinnati, which would land it the tiebreaker. A loss would drop the Steelers to 2-2 in the division, which would likely give the Bengals the edge.

This is a very critical game, which makes the recent officiating shakeup even more interesting. On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide ground stop after new technology in the air traffic control system caused communication and radar gaps. The stop was lifted later that night, but ESPN reported that the league reassigned several officials to games within driving distance of their homes to avoid more travel problems. That includes the Bengals vs. Steelers contest.

After working the 1 p.m. game between the Miami Dolphins and the Indianapolis Colts, side judge Don Willard will travel about 110 miles from Indianapolis to Cincinnati to fill in as the referee for Clete Blakeman. Willard normally works on Scott Novak's crew, and X user NFLRefStats broke down what that could mean for Sunday night.

"Novak's crew is not particularly home field friendly, w' HOME teams just 9-17 (37%) since start of 2025, including a 3-6 SU & 2-5-2 ATS record in 2026," the account wrote.

In other words, home teams are 3-6 straight up and 2-5-2 against the spread with that crew this season. That sounds like good news for the road team, but the account was quick to add some important context. It noted that Novak's crew was not home-friendly even before Willard joined it, and that it looks to the head referee for tendencies, not the side judge. It also pointed out that newer and replacement officials have historically favored home teams, with home teams winning 62% of the time during the 2012 replacement referee stretch.

In a tight divisional matchup with playoff implications on the line, Pittsburgh needs every advantage it can get, but this one is far from a sure thing.

One thing that Mike McCarthy will have to prepare for is how often the flags could fly. NFLRefStats reported that the crew Willard normally works with ranks No. 1 in penalties per game this season, including offensive holding, and that no crew has awarded more automatic first downs via penalty. It is not clear which officials will work alongside Willard on Sunday night, but if his approach carries over, the Steelers may need to be careful in coverage. The account noted that the crew calls defensive pass interference at an above-average rate, which it said could be a big advantage for Cincinnati. On the flip side, Pittsburgh could take some deep shots of its own to try and get a pass interference call to go its way.

The change could still help the Steelers. Before the officiating switch was announced, that same X account posted some unfortunate numbers for Pittsburgh with Blakeman in charge.

"The Steelers have struggled w' Blakeman officiating more than any other referee over the past decade, w' a 5-11 record, most recently their 27-24 loss at Browns in Week 4," NFLRefStats wrote.

The account also noted that divisional home teams are 22-14-1 with Blakeman as the referee since 2021, including 4-0-1 this season. Those are tough numbers for a team that has to go on the road for a division game.

It's unclear why the Steelers have struggled so much in games Blakeman has worked. It could simply come down to which games he has been assigned, and NFLRefStats said it could not find a specific reason either. Either way, the Steelers should not mind seeing a different referee in charge for this one.

Steelers Need To Scout Clete Blakeman Harder

Even though Blakeman will not officiate this Week 10 matchup, odds are he will be working a Steelers game later in the season. Pittsburgh now has a coach who is more willing to scout officials, but the Week 4 loss to the Cleveland Browns shows that has not solved the problem yet. The Steelers have to find a way to make sure these contests are decided by the players, not the officials.

What do you think about Willard taking over for Blakeman in Week 10? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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