Referee Scouting Report for NY Giants-Eagles NFC East Showdown

Who is officiating Giants-Eagles TNF showdown?

Jan 26, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; NFL referee Clete Blakeman during the Buffalo Bills game against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The New York Giants served up a unique brand of dysfunction to their fans in last Sunday's 26-14 loss versus the New Orleans Saints, committing three fumbles and throwing two interceptions on five straight drives. The turnover-palooza was accompanied by the team's usual issue: lots and lots of penalties.

Big Blue incurred eight infractions for 95 yards, marking the third time it has lost 80-plus yards this season. Brian Daboll's squad is unlikely to upset the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football if they continue to accumulate flags. Clete Blakeman will be the head official for the game, per Football Zebras.

Blakeman’s crew has called the fourth-fewest penalties (63) among all the officiating crews this far, 54 of which have been enforced. The Giants, meanwhile, currently rank third (tied) in most penalties called and first in penalty yardage.

The Eagles have been called for 37 penalties this season, totaling 346 yards. They have eight presnap penalties on offense, the sixth fewest in the league through five weeks of play.

Home teams have been backed up 21 times for 183 yards, while visitors have incurred 33 penalties for 258 yards. Giants fans desperately hope that trend will continue inside MetLife Stadium.

They last saw Blakeman in December of 2024 in a 14-11 loss to the Saints. Home-field advantage certainly did not come in handy in that one, as New York totaled 12 penalties for a costly 112 yards.

Blakeman officiated two Giants-Eagles games during the 2022-23 campaign, including a Divisional Round matchup that ended in a Philly rout. Despite losing by a combined 57 points in those NFC East clashes, the Giants tallied only 39 yards in penalties.

Obviously, though, discipline has become a massive problem in the present. The Giants are tied for 31st in the NFL with 43 penalties, and their 415 yards against are the most in the league. Escaping the division's basement is extremely hard to do with those ghastly figures.

If New York is unable to overcome a penalty problem versus the Saints, it will surely struggle to do so against the defending Super Bowl champions. Considering the coaching staff is under the microscope amid a 1-4 start to the season, the last thing the organization wants is an excess of flags.

We will see how the squad fares with Clete Blakeman on the field.

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.