Clay Martin, No. 19, will referee the New England Patriots against the Lions on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET at FC Bayern Munich Stadium. His crew calls fewer penalties than the league average.
Crew rate
According to NFL Penalties, Martin’s crew is calling 13.4 accepted penalties a game through 9 games. The league rate is 14.7, the thirteenth most of 17 crews. His games exceeded that rate in 3 of 9.
Martin’s games average 106.9 penalty yards against the league’s 118.2. His crew called 12.1 penalties a game in 2025, the tenth most of 17 crews, with 6 of 17 above the league’s 12.5 rate.
In 2024, the crew averaged 12.7 against a league rate of 12.8, the eighth most of 17 crews. Across Martin’s 43 games in 3 seasons as referee, 16 of 43 exceeded that season’s league rate.
Main call
Offensive holding leads Martin’s crew with 29 calls in 9 games, or 3.2 a game. The league rate is 3.12, with 424 calls in 136 games.
Road teams have drawn 62 penalties in Martin’s 2026 games, compared with 59 for home teams. Across 43 games, the split is 286 on road teams and 255 on home teams.
Team fit
Detroit has drawn 56 penalties in 8 games, or 7.0 a game. The Lions have 24 in 4 home games, a 6.0 rate, compared with 32 in 4 road games and an 8.0 rate.
New England has drawn 67 penalties in 9 games, or 7.4 a game. The Patriots have 39 in 5 road games, a 7.8 rate, above Detroit’s 6.0 home rate.
Martin has worked 8 Lions games as referee in the logs since 2021. Detroit drew 9 flags for 67 yards in a 32-26 loss at the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 4, 2026.
The Lions drew 10 flags for 76 yards in a 27-24 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 2, 2025. They drew 8 for 49 in a 31-29 road win over the Vikings on Oct. 20, 2024.
Martin has worked 4 Patriots games as referee since 2021. New England drew 4 flags for 52 yards in a 38-10 home win over the Miami Dolphins on Jan. 4, 2026.
The Patriots drew 7 flags for 59 yards in a 21-18 win at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 7, 2023. They drew 2 for 20 in a 35-23 loss at the Buffalo Bills on Jan. 8, 2023.
Meeting history
The 1 listed regular-season meeting, in 2022, averaged 13.0 accepted penalties. Detroit drew more in 1 of 1, New England in 0, and 0 were even. It is a small sample, not a trend.
| Game | Where | Lions | Patriots | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 9, 2022 | Gillette Stadium | 7 for 82 yards | 6 for 46 yards | 13 |
That Week 5 game in New England was Detroit’s most-flagged meeting, with 7 penalties for 82 yards. The Lions lost 29-0.
Martin’s 13.4 crew rate sits near the 13.0 from the 1 listed meeting, which was in New England rather than Munich. Watch offensive holding at 3.2 a game and New England’s 7.8 road rate against Detroit’s 6.0 home rate.
As of November 13, 2026. Penalty counts are accepted penalties; declined and offsetting flags are not included. League rates are total accepted penalties divided by games played.
