Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots are set to face off in a huge Week 15 AFC East showdown. It’s a matchup that players around the NFL refer to as a “hat and t-shirt” game, where the Patriots can re-claim the division crown by winning on Sunday. You can be certain that’s New England’s plan, anxious to take back the AFC East after its five-year stay with One Bills Drive.
While the players and coaches will ultimately decide who the better team is on Sunday, it’s impossible to ignore the other unit involved in on-field action: the officiating crew. So, who’s on deck to officiate Bills-Patriots in Week 15?
This weekend Buffalo and New England get veteran official John Hussey and his crew. What do we know about Hussey in terms of penalties in 2025? Well, Hussey has not called a lot of penalties this year. His crew ranks in the bottom third in penalties called, throwing 155 flags on the season.
His is a name that should sound familiar for Bills Mafia as Hussey was on the call for Buffalo’s opening game of the year against the Baltimore Ravens. In that game Hussey called 12 total penalties, and only called five on the Bills. The Patriots have not worked with Hussey’s crew yet this season. New England did have Hussey and his team for two games last season where the Patriots was flagged for a total of 12 penalties.
It should be no surprise that the most frequent penalty the crew calls is false starts, which is followed by offensive holding, and then defensive pass interference. What is surprising is that Hussey’s crew has only called 27 holds on offenses this season.
For the most part, this is an officiating crew that lets teams settle it on the field. This can be viewed as a positive for Bills — they’re among the league leaders for holding calls in 2025. Whether you believe in trends or not, this season Hussey and his crew have called 11 more penalties on the home team than the away team.
