Buffalo Rumblings
A pressing narrative from fans about the Buffalo Bills’ Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots was
that Shawn Hochuli and his crew didn’t give the Buffalo Bills a fair shake. Ultimately, though, two things are true: that the Bills doomed their own chances with poor discipline and Shawn Hochuli is an acquired taste.
However, plenty of people on social media found a stat revealing that opponents of the Bills have only been flagged for a single offensive holding call all season long while Buffalo has 11 of them. But enough about the past. With officiating always a topic of discussion these days, and especially so after Sunday Night Football, let’s turn our attention to the next group of officials set to work Monday Night Football featuring the Bills and Atlanta Falcons.
Head official Shawn Smith will lead his team in Atlanta, and they’re an officiating crew that’s called the fifth-least amount of penalties in the league this season (64). In Week 5, Smith officiated the wild Arizona Cardinals game against the Tennessee Titans. That game featured 14 penalties, making it five straight games for Smith calling double-digit penalties despite the lower average for the season. Smith’s crew was put in the National spotlight Week 1 when they ejected Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter before the first snap, for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
Smith’s crew most recently officiated a Bills game in Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season — a matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars that featured 13 total penalties, with Buffalo flagged for six of them. As for the Falcons,
Smith last officiated a game for Atlanta last during Week 15 last season. That late-season tilt against the Las Vegas Raiders saw the Falcons called for six penalties.
So what penalties has Smith’s crew frequently called? It’s offensive holding, with defensive pass interference the second-most frequent penalty called by this crew in 2025. It could be interesting to watch for defensive secondary players to see if both sides are flagged for minimal contact, or if Smith’s crew lets them play football.
It’s likely best not leaving that to chance, instead the Bills should focus on what they can control in playing mistake-free, complementary football. Failing to do that, as was the case versus the Patriots, may mean the difference between winning and losing Monday night.
