Clete Blakeman will referee the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 3 matchup with the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. It’s the first time the Steelers will see Blakeman as a referee this year. He worked the Steelers’ Week 2 matchup on the road against the Denver Broncos in 2024. This game was a 13-6 Steelers win. The NFL Communications website announced Blakeman’s assignment in its Week 3 game capsule.
Road teams winning with Blakeman as the official was common last season. Home teams went just 5-11 with Blakeman as the referee last season, and he called 53.5% of his penalties on the home team, per nflpenalties.com. Over 2023 and 2024, Blakeman’s crew called many defensive pass interference and holding penalties. Last season, his crew called 20 defensive pass interference penalties, an average of over one per game, and 16 defensive holding penalties.
Notably, the Week 2 game against Denver last season saw OT Broderick Jones called for three penalties in a six-play span. This led to OT Troy Fautanu replacing Jones. Week 2 was Fautanu’s only game action last season before suffering a season-ending injury in practice the following week.
Those were the third- and fourth-most-called penalties by his crew, behind false start (46) and offensive holding (42). This season, though, Blakeman’s crew has yet to call a defensive pass interference in their two games. In Week 1, they officiated the Green Bay Packers’ 27-13 win over the Detroit Lions, and in Week 2, the crew worked the Buffalo Bills’ 30-10 win over the New York Jets.
There were 11 penalties in both of those games. In Week 1, there were four accepted penalties on the home team and seven on the away team, while in Week 2, there were five accepted penalties on the home team and six on the away team. Blakeman’s crew called defensive holding four times the previous two weeks combined. This is almost as much as their most-called penalty, offensive holding, which they’ve called five times.
The Steelers’ secondary must play a clean game, especially CB Joey Porter Jr. if he suits up. Porter has had issues with grabiness, and it’s something that Blakeman’s crew will watch. Porter’s current status is questionable after missing last week. Regardless of whether he plays or not, Pittsburgh’s secondary will need to play a clean game.
It will be the first Patriots game Blakeman has worked since the 2023 season. He worked their 29-25 upset of the Buffalo Bills in Week 7. That game was also played at Gillette Stadium, as Sunday’s will be.