Who are the announcers and referees for Patriots vs Bengals today?

Although the Patriots don't have many national games this season, and the A-teams from the networks calling the action will not be in the booth, they will have a solid group for their 2024 season opener against the Bengals on Sunday.

Their first game will be featured on CBS and feature the voice of one of the best in the business, Ian Eagle.

The hope is that he can call good action for the Patriots, who fans hope will look like a much more competitive and improved team than seen over the last two seasons.

It's a tall task for Jerod Mayo and his new staff, especially following in the footsteps of Bill Belichick, but a young and hungry roster could make it much easier to accomplish, even if most believe they won't win many games this fall.

Announcers for Patriots vs. Bengals

• Lead Play-by-Play Announcer: Ian Eagle
• Color Commentator(s): Charles Davis
• Sideline Reporter(s): Evan Washburn

The Patriots will have the standard CBS team for their Week 1 matchup with the Bengals, but they are rumored to have Tom Brady in the broadcast booth for their Week 5 game when the Dolphins come to Foxboro.

It will be the first time the former quarterback calls a New England game during his broadcasting career with Fox Sports. It's one aspect of his new career ventures that Patriots fans are even more intrigued by, especially if Drake Maye is already under center by that point (which many fans are hoping for).

Referees for Patriots vs. Bengals

Land Clark, who has been in the NFL since 2018, will be the head referee for the Patriots vs. Bengals game in Week 1. He began his career as a field and side judge and became a head referee in 2020.

Over the six years he has been in the league, Clark has been fairly even with his calls against the home and away teams every season, with generally only a few more flags called on one team over the other. So he's been consistently fair, to say the least.

However, Over the last three seasons, he has called more penalties on the away teams, which doesn't bode well for the Patriots, who struggled in the preseason with piling up flags. Yet interestingly, the home team winning percentage has drastically decreased during that time.

Despite the fewer penalties on home teams when Clark is the referee, they only won 25% of games during the 2023 season, well below the league average of 56.14%. That does work in the Patriots favor.

Full Officiating Crew

• Umpire: Paul King (#121)
• Down Judge: Tom Stephan (#68)
• Line Judge: Jeff Hutcheon (#46)
• Sideline Judge: Dominique Pender (#114)
• Field Judge: Jabir Walker (#26)
• Ball Judge: Brad Freeman (#88)

Time & Channel for Patriots vs. Bengals

• Date: September 8, 2024
• Time: 1:00 pm EST
• Location: Paycor Stadium
• Channel: CBS

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