Four NFL officials will pull a rare double shift Sunday, officiating two different games as a result of leaguewide travel issues created by Friday’s FAA ground stop.
Referee Don Willard, umpire Terry Killens, field judge Jabir Walker and side judge Justin Larrew all will work the Dolphins–Colts game at 1 p.m. ET in Indianapolis before driving 110 miles to Cincinnati for the Steelers–Bengals nightcap, which kicks off at 8:20 p.m.
The adjusted assignments are part of the NFL’s wider plan to reassign officials to games within driving distance of their hometowns.
Willard, who normally works as a side judge, instead will referee both games Sunday. The league announced Sunday morning that Killens, Walker and Larrew would join Willard in the unusual double assignment.
The NFL said each of the league’s 17 officiating crews have an identified backup referee, who trains throughout the year to work at the referee position should the need arise.
Airlines across the United States have worked all weekend to recover from the longest nationwide ground stop in 25 years that canceled more than 2,000 flights, spread ripple effects around the world, stranded passengers and forced professional and college sports teams to scramble for alternate transportation.
The nationwide stop, attributed to new technology being added to the nation’s air traffic control system that caused “intermittent” communications and radar gaps, was the second since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
