The NFL has assigned referee Clay Martin and his crew to officiate Week 13’s game between the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions; Martin has been on hand for just three Saints games since being promoted to referee in 2018, but New Orleans is 2-1 with him on the field. Detroit is 2-3.
And Martin’s crew averages the second-fewest penalty flags per game among the NFL’s 17 officiating staffs (10.7), with an emphasis on offensive holding fouls (30) and false starts (20). That’s the good news. The bad news is that Martin’s staff have penalized home teams much more often (63 times) than visitors (44) this season, so the Saints won’t have any benefits of hosting this game.
Dennis Allen’s Saints team is not as disciplined as Dan Campbell’s Lions squad. Detroit has been fouled 62 times in 11 games, for a total loss of 578 yards; New Orleans has drawn 70 penalty markers for a combined 642 yards in 11 games as well. Take that down to per-game averages and the Saints are being fouled 6.4 times for 58.4 yards each week. The Lions are being penalized 5.7 times for 52.5 yards. The Saints must mind their hands and play clean football on Sunday to avoid those penalties and stay out of their own way.
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