The Pittsburgh Steelers’ rivalry with the Baltimore Ravens is one of the best in football. To referee their upcoming game, the NFL is choosing its newest and greenest head referee. Alex Moore will be the referee for Steelers-Ravens on Sunday. NFL Communications announced Moore would referee in the weekly game capsule release.
Moore is in his first season as a referee, and his crew has thrown significantly more flags than any other. Moore’s crew leads the league with 192 called penalties this season, beating out Shawn Hochuli’s 182. 93 of those penalties have been on the home team while 99 have been against the visitors, per nflpenalties.com.
Of his 192 penalties called, 39 have been for false starts, and 34 have been for offensive holding. Moore was promoted this season to replace Tra Blake, who was demoted for poor performance. Prior to becoming a referee in the NFL, Moore worked as an umpire on both Bill Vinovich’s and Shawn Smith’s crews.
Prior to his time in the NFL, Moore worked as a collegiate referee, working games in the SEC and AAC. He also worked as a referee in the USFL, officiating in the 2022 USFL Championship Game.
The Steelers and Ravens are both at 6-6, battling for the AFC North lead. It’s an interesting decision to have the league’s newest referee work a rivalry that can get heated. Moore hasn’t worked a game involving the Steelers or the Ravens so far this season, though, so it will be his first time seeing either team.
Last week, Moore worked the Los Angeles Chargers’ win over the Las Vegas Raiders. His crew called only eight penalties in that game. As the season has gone on, Moore’s crew has thrown fewer flags. But there have been three games where they’ve called 20 or more penalties and eight games with 15 or more.
Playing clean and staying disciplined will be key for both teams on Sunday, and there’s no doubt M&T Bank Stadium can be a hostile environment. It’s a difficult assignment for any referee, especially a rookie. It’s going to be interesting to see how Moore handles the intensity of AFC North football in a game that has plenty on the line for both sides.