Another week, another notable referee crew working a Patriots game
The New England Patriots will have another referee crew that is among the league leaders in flags when they face the Cleveland Browns.
Sep 7, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Referee Alex Moore prepares to make a call during the second half of game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Carolina Panthers at EverBank Stadium.
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesAfter two weeks where referees became a major story in New England Patriots games, last week against the Tennessee Titans was a bit of a reprieve. Not only where there not really any controversial calls, but Craig Wrolstad's crew kept up a good pace of play at remained out of the spotlight.
This week though, don't be surprised to once again see the officials on your TV quite a bit. The NFL announced the referee assignments for Week 8 on Wednesday, and the Patriots game against the Cleveland Browns will have the crew led by first-year referee and fourth-year NFL game official Alex Moore.
What makes Moore's crew notable. Through seven weeks, no crew in the league is throwing more flags than they do. According to NFLPenalties.com Moore's crew has thrown 21.86 flags (which includes declined penalties) per game this year, which leads the NFL. They're one of only three crews averaging more than 20 flags per game.
Sunday's game will actually be the second time Moore's crew works a Patriots game this year. They were also assigned to the Pats' Week 2 matchup against the Miami Dolphins. That was their most active game of the year, as they threw 28 total flags resulting in 22 total penalties. The split was about even, with 15 flags on the Patriots and 13 on the Dolphins. New England won the game 33-27.
Getting Moore assigned to them continues a trend of the Patriots getting the more flag-happy referees throughout the season. Including this upcoming Sunday, six of their eight games will have been officiated by five of the seven most flag-throwing crews in the NFL this year (counting Moore twice).
With these crews the Patriots are among the most-penalized teams in the NFL this year. They've had the eighth-most flags thrown on them with 9.43 per game, while the 8.43 penalties enforced against them per game ranks fourth.
Cleveland, for all its struggles, has been pretty disciplined penalty-wise this year. The Browns rank tied for 15th in terms of flags against at 8.43 per game, while their actual penalties against per game is 19th-most at 6.86 per game.
