It turns out things are changing pretty quickly around the Sunday night primetime showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals.
Thank some weird outside circumstances.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Clete Blakeman’s officiating crew has been removed from the game due to Friday’s nationwide air travel shutdown and delays.
In response, the NFL has assigned NFL backup referee Don Willard and crew to the game.
And to make matters even more interesting, Willard’s crew will pull double duty, refereeing the Miami Dolphins against the Indianapolis Colts at 1 p.m. ET before heading to Cincinnati for the Sunday night AFC North bout.
The NFL was never going to let a Sunday night primetime game get pushed back due to the air travel hiccup.
But Steelers vs. Bengals will, for better or worse, have a really interesting referee situation on its hands.
Clete Blakeman removed from #PITvsCIN
— nflrefstats (@nflrefstats1) November 14, 2026
Official Don Willard on double-duty at #MIAvsIND then immediately to Cincinnati for #Bengals vs #Steelers
Ill do some research but Willard has not been a head referee & its a patchwork crew assembled by the sounds of it for @SNFonNBC
The… https://t.co/LnViIwrDF8
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Steelers vs. Bengals gets a ref change after flight disruptions
