Referee Report: Bengals Will Get One of League's Most Consistent Officials Thursday Against Steelers

Oct 8, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; NFL referee Clay Martin during the Cincinnati Bengals game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

CINCINNATI – The referee for Thursday night’s Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game is one who has consistently ranked in the middle of the pack in flags thrown.

That marks a departure from the extremes the Bengals have seen the last two weeks.

Clay Martin is in his eighth season as a head referee and 11th as an NFL official.

He and his crew rank 10th in total flags per game (16) and eighth in accepted penalties per game (14).

Martin has lived in that middle ground for years.

Here are his rankings by year in accepted penalties:

2024: Eighth (12.65)

2023: 10th (10.76)

2022: Seventh (11.65)

2021: Ninth (11.53)

2020: Eighth (11.14)

2019: 13th (12.27)

Martin has only worked four Cincinnati games as a head referee, and the Bengals are 2-2 with him, one of which was the Wild-Card win against Baltimore in the 2022 season.

He has drawn four playoff assignments in his previous seven seasons as a referee, working the Divisional round in 2024 and 2021 and Wild-Card games in 2022 and 2023.

Martin’s most recent Bengals game was a win at Arizona in Week 5, 2023.

The Steelers also are 2-2 with Martin.

Here is a game-by-game look at Martin with the Bengals:

Week 5, 2023: Bengals 34, Cardinals 20

Bengals 4-40; Cardinals 2-16

Wild-Card Playoff, 2022: Bengals 24, Ravens 17

Bengals 7-42; Ravens 4-36

Week 1, 2020: Chargers 16, Bengals 13

Bengals 7-44; Chargers 6-35

Week 6, 2019: Ravens 23, Bengals 17

Bengals 4-20; Ravens 10-81

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