Craig Wrolstad will serve as the head referee for Wednesday’s Christmas game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs. And he’s stuffing the stockings with plenty of penalty flags.
Per NFLpenalties.com, Wrolstad and his crew have thrown more yellow this season than any other officiating team, 227 on the season. On a per-game basis, his 15.1 penalties are second most among referees, narrowly trailing Clete Blakeman’s 15.2. They are the only two officials to average more than 14.5 flags per game. Factor in calls declined and Wrolstad leads the league with 18 per game.
It’s a large increase from a season ago when his crew averaged among the fewest flags, just 9.9 accepted penalties per game.
This will be the first Steelers game Wrolstad has worked this season. He worked a pair last season, Pittsburgh’s wins over the Los Angeles Rams and in its rematch against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers were flagged eight times against the Rams but just twice against the Bengals.
Wrolstad has flagged false starts (42) and offensive holding (35) the most this year though those calls rank top two for any official. His third-most common penalty is defensive pass interference, called 19 times this season. He’s also called defensive offsides 17 times this year, an unusually high number, and reminder for the Steelers’ pass rushers to not be overly eager getting a jump on the snap count. EDGE rushers T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig will need to put the heat on QB Patrick Mahomes, especially given the Chiefs’ offensive tackle injuries and struggles.
After breaking into the NFL in 2003, Wrolstad was promoted to head referee in 2014. Before working in the league, he officiated NFL Europe games, the Pac-10, and Arena Football League contests. Wrolstad and his crew were at the center of controversy late in 2022 for what many believed was a poorly officiated game between the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions, a Wild Card game that featured only seven total accepted penalties but plenty of questionable calls.
