The New England Patriots will be seeing referee Ed Hochuli for the third time this season in the AFC Championship Game. All three games have been on the road.
Hochuli first dropped by in week 10 against the New York Giants, in what was a nerve-wrackingly close game. This play took place:
Hi, my name is Rob Gronkowski and I wish officials would call penalties on the defense. pic.twitter.com/NOSAGBy2qO
— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) November 19, 2015
The Patriots then saw Hochuli in the season finale against the Miami Dolphins, which the Patriots promptly lost through an interesting coaching decision to run down the clock for the entire first half of the game.
Now the Patriots will see Hochuli in Denver against the Broncos. The Patriots are 2-3 over the past five games with Hochuli at the helm, including last season's loss against the Green Bay Packers (coincidentally also on the road).
Hochuli's known for calling a tight game where he calls a penalty more per game than the average official, 3% fewer penalties on the home team, and the home team wins a hair more than average.
This should be interesting.