The Tennessee Titans (1-2) have a massive battle with the Cincinnati Bengals (1-2) looming, as both teams try to improve their record to .500 on the year.
Even though things look bleak for the Titans at the moment, recent history says they could possibly have at least one small advantage on their side, at least when it comes to the zebras.
Shawn Smith, who you may remember as the “hey, hey, hey” referee from the Titans-Miami Dolphins 2021 matchup, is set to be the head official on Sunday, and his crew has heavily favored the home team as of late.
This is AWESOME: Ref randomly says "Hey, hey, hey” before announcing the penalty.
All the Titans fans in the stadium answer back: "HEYYYYY!"
I love this 😂pic.twitter.com/7U39ozWXLZ
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 2, 2022
According to the NFLPenalties.com, since the start of 2022, Smith’s crew has called 122 penalties on the away team as opposed to the 95 it has called on the home team.
This year alone, approximately 41.9 percent (18-of-43) of the penalties called have favored the visiting squad, while a whopping 58.1 percent (25-of-43) have helped the hosting team.
The majority of those penalties were called on the first two downs. Offensive holding (seven), defensive pass interference (six) and unnecessary roughness (four) were the three most frequent infractions flagged by Smith’s crew.
Offensive holding (2.33), defensive pass interference (2.00), unnecessary roughness (1.33), defensive holding (1.00), neutral zone infraction (1.00) and false start (1.00) are all being called at least once per game on average.
Let’s hope this trend continues on Sunday for the host Titans because Tennessee needs all the help it can get at the moment.
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