Giants-Rams Officiating Preview: Brad Allen's Crew Brings a Heavy Flag Count

Allen's crew threw a league-high 162 flags last season and 23 more in Week 1. Now it draws a Giants team that led the NFL with 114 penalty yards last week.

NFL referee Brad Allen | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Veteran referee Brad Allen and his crew will officiate the New York Giants’ Week 2 regular-season game against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football.

Allen is in his 13th NFL season as a referee, stepping into the role in 2014 when Mike Carey retired.

Allen and his crew last worked the Giants’ Week 7 defensive meltdown against Denver last season, a game in which the crew threw 20 penalty flags (12 against the Broncos and eight against the Giants).

Allen’s crew threw the most penalty flags last season (162), and 40 were dismissed. One week into the 2026 season, the crew picked up right where it left off, having thrown 23 flags in its Week 1 assignment (Chicago at Carolina), none of which were dismissed.

Allen’s crew was involved in a controversial call during the 2023 season when they nullified a two-point conversion made by the Detroit Lions.

The call came when Allen’s crew flagged the Lions for illegal touching against Taylor Decker, who had reported as eligible. Instead, Allen’s crew maintained that Dan Skipper had reported as eligible, a claim later verified on video.

Allen’s crew for 2026 remains mostly intact from last year. It includes umpire Marcus Woods, down judge Sarah Thomas, line judge Walter Flowers, field judge Anthony Flemming, side judge Chad Hill, back judge Tyree Walton, replay official Jim Van Geffen, and replay assistant Randy Roseberry.

Flemming (from John Hussey’s crew) and Van Geffen (from Bill Vinovich’s crew) are new to Allen’s crew this year, with Van Geffen promoted from replay assistant to replay official.

The Giants were tied for third last week for most penalties (10) thrown against them, their 114 penalty yards topping the league in Week 1 play.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news, and send your mailbag questions to us.