We’re closing in on the start of the New Orleans Saints‘ 2025 season. And now we know which referee will be officiating their kickoff game. Football Zebras reports that veteran ref Scott Novak and his crew will be working Sunday’s matchup with the Arizona Cardinals at the Caesars Superdome.
If you’re curious, the Saints have gone 3-3 in games Novak has worked since being promoted to referee back in 2019. In that same span of time, the Cardinals are 1-6, and that lone win came against the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, when Kellen Moore was the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator. Dallas was fouled 10 times for a loss of 88 yards in that game, while Arizona drew seven penalties for a loss of 45 yards.
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So which penalties should the Saints look out for? Last year, Novak’s crew threw a lot of flags for false starts (41) and offensive holding calls (40), and not much else. Their next most-common penalty was defensive pass interference, but that tied for the fourth-fewest among the league’s 17 officiating crews (14 times in 17 games). No crew totaled fewer yardage on DPI fouls than Novak’s (189 yards). They penalized home teams and visitors for DPI seven times each.
Novak’s crew ranked near the middle of the pack in penalties per game last year, with an emphasis on the offensive line, for both teams. That could be a problem for the Saints. They’re starting at least two new faces on Sunday with rookie draft pick Kelvin Banks Jr. stepping in at left tackle and veteran journeyman Dillon Radunz filling in at left guard. Second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler needs to be careful with his cadence, too. New Orleans has to play clean football and avoid hurting themselves with mental errors at the line of scrimmage.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Referee Scott Novak assigned to Week 1 Saints game, Cardinals are 1-6