The Detroit Lions will kick off their 2021 NFL season with a game against the San Francisco 49ers, and just as an important variable for fans as the starting lineup will be who the referees are.
For years, the Lions have endured a complicated relationship with the referees for one reason or another. This season, they’re looking to turn over a new leaf with regards to this fact, and might get a big boost with regards to that during Week 1 of the season.
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Last week, Football Zebras revealed that referee Brad Rogers would be on the call for the Lions’ Week 1 home opener against the 49ers. Rogers will be the very first referee the league sends the Lions for the 2021 season on the field. Here’a a look at the announcement:
Referee for 49ers at Lions — Brad Rogers
t.co/NX0ot1p5Jz #SFvsDET
Interestingly enough, the news could be great for the Lions in terms of Rogers. As Chris Burke of The Athletic pointed out on Twitter, Rogers was one of the referees who threw the fewest amount of flags in 2020, even as he did seem to penalize away teams less than home teams.
Seeing a referee who can be light on the flags could prove to be good news in the season opener for the Lions in particular. They will hope this trend proves to be real for the home opener this year.
Lions Penalty Statistics for 2020 Season
As usual, the Lions don’t have only the referees but themselves to blame in terms of the calls not going their way. Much as has been the case the last few seasons, the Lions struggled with penalties during the 2020 year. As the stats show, the team was one of the most penalized in the NFL last season, as a top 10 group in terms of that statistic. In total, the Lions had 113 flags go against them last season, with 52 of those coming at home. The Lions also had 860 yards against them in penalties.
Obviously, a big goal of Dan Campbell and the team’s staff will be finding a way to get the penalty yardage numbers in check. That will be true regardless of who is the referee on a given week for the team.
Rogers’ Career Biography
By NFL standards, Rogers is a newbie given he started his career in 2019. With that being said, Rogers has been on an NFL field before. As a Football Zebras profile piece explains, he served as a field judge in 2017 and 2018 in the lead into this new role. He was previously a referee in the SEC and Conference USA prior to working in the NFL, and got his start as a high school referee in 1991. Safe to say he has worked his way up the ranks to the big leagues.
During the 2019 season, Rogers was the referee for the Lions in their battle against the Minnesota Vikings during Week 7 of the year. The Lions lost that game 42-30, but it wasn’t due to the referees. The team will have to hope Rogers is similarly invincible this week.
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Lions’ Week 1 Referee vs. 49ers Offers Potential Key Advantage