Shawn Smith's Crew Will Officiate Giants-Cardinals as Big Blue Looks to Clean Up Penalties

The Giants rank fourth-worst in the NFL in penalty yards (222), and Smith's crew, though light on flags, has cost teams a lot of yardage this season.

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; NFL referee Shawn Smith during Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nine-year NFL veteran referee Shawn Smith will serve as the head referee when the New York Giants host the 1-2 Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Smith and his crew of umpire (and former referee) Tra Blake, down judge Jay Bilbo, line judge Jeff Seeman, field judge Dyrol Prioleau, side judge Keith Parham, back judge Dino Paganelli (promoted from the SEC), replay official Mike Wimmer, and replay assistant Artenzia Young-Seigler (last year with Clay MArtin’s crew), last worked the Giants’ 33-15 loss to the New England Patriots last December.

In that game, Smith’screw flagged the Giants for just four penalties (30 yards). And in the previous season, Smith’s crew flagged the Giants for only two penalties in a 29-20 win over the Seattle Seahawks.  

Smith, who was assigned to Super Bowl 60, has kept the flag count fairly low this season. Through three games, the crew has thrown just 37 flags, the sixth fewest among crews.

However, don’t let that figure fool you. Those 37 penalties have cost teams 341 penalty yards, the seventh most this season.

Better Discipline Required 

This season, the Giants have accumulated 222 penalty yards, fourth-worst in the NFL. Of that yardage, 115 has come against the defense, the third-highest total against all defenses in the league.

Further, 69 of those 115 defensive penalty yards have come from defensive pass interference; the Giants tied with Seattle for the fourth-most penalty yards resulting from DPI.

Pre-snap penalties continue to be a problem for Big Blue. Of the 23 total flags they’ve drawn, 12 have come on offense, and none of those 13 have been pre-snap.

Of their nine penalties on defense, only one has occurred pre-snap.

The Giants have a solid opportunity to earn a 3-1 record. They cannot blow it by losing their head or getting overzealous. Discipline is everything for a team that is arguably missing its most important players on offense and defense.

The Giants kick off Week 4 at home against the Cardinals at 1:05 p.m.

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