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NFL announces officials for Panthers’ wild-card playoff game vs. Rams

The referees were pretty bad last time, but who did the Panthers get in the wild-card round?
Zach Roberts|
Oct 12, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales speaks with the referee during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images
Oct 12, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales speaks with the referee during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

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Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers were subjected to some abysmal refereeing last week. While refs never, ever win or lose a contest, they can make an impact, and they surely did in Tampa Bay.

Clearly, ball don't lie, because after suffering through that en route to a loss, the Atlanta Falcons won on Sunday, meaning the Panthers won the division anyway. One can only hope that Brad Allen's crew never sees a Panthers game again.

At least for one week, that is going to be the case. The NFL just revealed the refs for the Panthers' bout with the Los Angeles Rams.

NFL sets Clete Blakeman as head ref for Panthers' playoff game

Clete Blakema
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. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

On Saturday at 4:30 pm, the Panthers and Rams will officially kickstart the NFL playoffs. When they do, they'll have Clete Blakeman and his team of referees calling the game. Thankfully, it's not Brad Allen, who is being tasked with the Jags-Bills contest.

What is interesting and perhaps disheartening is that there's no repercussion for Allen's horrible, game-altering miscues in Saturday's Week 18 contest in Tampa Bay. The crew was positively dreadful, making wrong call after wrong call.

Yet, here they are, in the playoffs. It is alarming, but the good news is that the Panthers won't have to deal with it. They could, in theory, see Allen again if they manage to stay alive in the playoffs, but that's a problem to be solved another day if they survive the weekend.

There are some interesting things to note about Blakeman:

  • High penalty frequency (averages over 15 per game)
  • Averages 129.4 penalty yards per game, suggesting that more penalties are in the 10-15-yard range

Perhaps most interesting is that Clete Blakeman reffed the Panthers' biggest game ever: Super Bowl 50. No fan has forgotten some of the rulings in that game, such as the Jerricho Cotchery "drop" or the batted fumble that should've been ruled dead on the touch.

Regardless, that was a long time ago, and it probably has no bearing on this game. And after what the Panthers went through last week, let's all hope they get a much fairer penalty flag this time around.

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Zach Roberts
ZACH ROBERTS

Zachary Roberts is a journalist with a wide variety of experience covering basketball, golf, entertainment, video games, music, football, baseball, and hockey. He currently covers Charlotte sports teams and has been featured on Sportskeeda, Yardbarker, MSN, and On SI.

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