We are down to three games in the NFL season and what a weekend it was! Three out of the four referees last week cashed on profitable trends all season long. This weekend, the NFL has assigned Bill Vinovich and Carl Cheffers to the respective conference championship games. Let me dive into the betting stats and trends for these two officials.
2022 NFL Conference Championship Referee Assignments
Cincinnati Bengals vs Kansas City Chiefs (-7) | Total: 54
Referee: Bill Vinovich
Bill Vinovich is the referee assigned to the AFC Championship game this Sunday. Home teams fared well in games officiated by Bill Vinovich. In fact, home teams were 10-6 straight up and 8-8 against the spread this season in games officiated by Vinovich. Further, the Under was 10-6 with an average total of 45.6.
Further, Vinovich officiated two games each for the Bengals and the Chiefs. First, in Week 1, Vinovich officiated the matchup between the Browns and the Chiefs. The Chiefs won the game 33-29 and failed to cover the 5.5 spread. Also, Vinovich officiated the Week 10 AFC West division matchup between the Chiefs and the Raiders. The Chiefs went into Vegas as a 2.5 point favorite and won the game 41-14.
Vinovich officiated the Week 5 matchup between the Packers and the Bengals. The Packers were a 3 point favorite in Cincinnati and the Bengals lost the game in overtime 25-22. In addition, Vinovich officiated the AFC North Week 12 matchup between the Bengals and the Steelers. The Bengals crushed the Steelers 41-10 as a 3.5 point favorite.
It is also worth mentioning, Vinovich did officiate the Week 18 game between the Bengals and the Browns. However, in this game, most of the starters were out for the Bengals including starting quarterback Joe Burrow. The Bengals lost the game 21-16 but did cover the 6.5 spread.
An additional note for Vinovich is that he officiated Super Bowl LIV (54) when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams (-3) | Total: 46
Referee: Carl Cheffers
Carl Cheffers will be the NFL referee for the NFC Conference Championship this Sunday. This season home teams were average in games officiated by Cheffers. In fact, home teams were 9-7 straight up and 6-10 against the spread. Further, the total was 8-7 to the Over with an average total of 50.6. This was the second-highest average among NFL referees this season trailing only Brad Rogers who was the best referee to the Over.
This season, Cheffers officiated two games involving the San Francisco 49ers. First, in Week 4, Cheffers officiated the NFC West matchup between the Seahawks and the 49ers. The 49ers lost as a three point home favorite 28-21. Next, Cheffers officiated the Week 17 matchup between the Texans and the 49ers. The 49ers won and covered the game as 13.5 home favorite, 23-7.
Carl Cheffers officiated one game this season involving the Los Angeles Rams. In Week 14, Cheffers officiated the NFC West clash between the Rams and the Cardinals. The Rams went on to win the game 30-23 as a three point underdog.
