The NFL decided not to move Eagles at Commanders out of Sunday night, but it did move the referee. Alex Moore’s crew, which worked the disputed Packers-Lions game in Week 7, has been taken off the Sunday night game in Washington and will work Patriots at Dolphins at 4:25 p.m. ET instead (11:25 p.m. Sunday in Cairo). Shawn Hochuli’s crew, first assigned to the game in Miami, swaps over to Eagles-Commanders at 8:20 p.m. ET (3:20 a.m. Monday in Cairo).
The change came on Thursday, three days after the league published its Week 8 assignments. Officiating sources described the switch as “more about optics rather than a disciplinary action,” and the league has not commented publicly.
UPDATE: Alex Moore’s crew has been switched out of SNF and will officiate Patriots-Dolphins instead. Shawn Hochuli’s crew has been moved to cover the primetime game in Washington. Officiating sources say the switch is more about optics rather than a disciplinary action
— Football Zebras (@footballzebras) October 29, 2026
Why move a crew that was not downgraded?
Moore’s crew did not receive many downgrades for the Detroit game in the league’s review, an officiating source said. The concern is the broadcast. A national prime-time game has long stretches of filler, and with close-ups of the officials on screen, the commentators would almost certainly bring up last Sunday in Detroit. Moving the crew to a regional afternoon window avoids that conversation. “Moving a crew off primetime is not a disciplinary measure,” one officiating account explained. “It’s to minimize exposure where they mention last week’s game during filler time with close-ups of the officials on a primetime game. Not worth the headache, so just swap the crew.”
For the officials, nothing changes financially. Game fees are the same whatever the kickoff time, and an afternoon game means the crew does not have to fly home the next morning. There is precedent: in 2015 the league moved referee Pete Morelli’s crew off a Sunday night game, also described at the time as an optics decision rather than a downgrade.
Crews are normally assigned without regard to which network carries a game, which is why the switch stands out. Mike Florio pointed out that the league chose to keep a game between the 2-5 Eagles and the 1-4-1 Commanders in prime time while moving the officials off it.
What happened in Detroit
The Packers left Ford Field furious after their Week 7 loss to the Lions. The main complaint was a third-quarter unnecessary roughness call on Devonte Wyatt that set up a Detroit touchdown, which Moore defended in a pool report by saying the play “was over.” Green Bay was also flagged twice for roughing the passer, and Tom Brady criticized several of the calls on the broadcast in front of a national audience. Safety Xavier McKinney said afterward he was “not a big fan of the refs right now.” Our story on the Packers and the officiating in Detroit has the full breakdown.
Moore’s crew came into Week 8 fourth in the league at 17.7 accepted penalties per game. It will be the crew’s first Patriots game this season, and the second year in a row it has worked Patriots-Dolphins: the Week 2 meeting in Miami in 2025 produced 22 accepted penalties, the most of any game that crew worked that season.
Novak’s crew keeps the flags in its pocket
The other crew under the microscope this week had a quiet night. Scott Novak’s crew, which had averaged more than 20 accepted penalties a game, called only 11 in the Packers’ 27-19 win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday: five on Carolina for 41 yards and six on Green Bay for 45 yards. That was the fewest in any game Novak has worked this season, two fewer than the 13 in Browns at Titans in Week 7, and it came in a game between the two most penalized teams in the league.
The call people talked about was one that was not made. In the first half, Panthers cornerback Marco Wilson shoved Packers receiver Matthew Golden several times near the end zone and was flagged 15 yards for unnecessary roughness. Golden grabbed Wilson’s jersey and appeared to hit him in the facemask, but he was not penalized. The broadcast then showed an official holding Golden by the hand as he walked him away from the scrum, and later talking to him on the sideline. Golden caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love later in the half.
Green Bay’s defense had a night 💪 @Packers
— NFL (@NFL) October 30, 2026
Golden was already fined $11,941 for taunting in the Packers’ Week 7 win over Dallas. Retaliation that is not flagged can still draw a fine after the league reviews the tape, so the Golden play is one to watch when the weekly discipline list comes out. Novak also briefly cleared the field in the third quarter because of a drone near Lambeau Field. The original Week 8 assignments and every crew’s penalty numbers are in our Week 8 referee assignments story.
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