The officiating crew for the Detroit Lions‘ Week 9 game against the Miami Dolphins has been revealed.
For the matchup, Land Clark will serve as the head referee. Clark began his career as an official as a field judge, and also served as a side judge before being promoted to a head referee during the 2020 NFL season.
This will be Clark’s seventh Lions game in his career as a head ref, and Detroit is 5-0-1 in games he’s presided over. Notably, he served as the top official for the Lions’ tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2021 season.
He also officiated over the Lions’ win over the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Eve, 2023 when Detroit won 30-24 to cement their first division title since 1993.
Clark last reffed a Lions game in Week 2 of the 2025 season, when they defeated the Chicago Bears in a 52-21 rout. He has also worked six Dolphins games in his career, with Miami being 2-4 in those games.
In 2026, Clark has worked seven games with road teams being 6-1 in those games. This is favorable for Detroit, as they enter Sunday’s game as a favorite heading into Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
According to NFL Penalties, Clark’s crew ranks tied-for-third-lowest in terms of total flags thrown up to this point in the season with 94. Of those flags, 51 have been thrown on the home team and 43 have been on visiting teams.
The highest count of penalties he’s had this season was the Week 3 tilt between the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers, when 19 total flags were thrown. By contrast, he officiated the Week 6 game between Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh where only nine penalties were called.
Clark’s crew ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of offensive holding penalties called with 19 total, while the Lions have 11 total this season. This crew has called 18 false starts, and the Lions have 14 as a team so far this season.
Because Clark’s penalties align with Detroit’s tendencies, this is something to watch throughout Sunday’s game.
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