NFL assigns referee for Patriots vs. Broncos AFC Championship Game

The New England Patriots will travel to Denver this week to take on the top-seeded Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. As was announced by the NFL in the lead-up to the game, Alex Kemp will serve as the referee.

Officiating website Football Zebras had to say the following about Kemp:

Kemp, 52, is an insurance agent from Greenville, Mich. He officiated in the Big Ten Conference for several seasons as a side judge and referee. Kemp worked several postseason games as a Big Ten side judge, including the 2011 BCS National Championship Game.

Kemp was hired in 2014 as an side judge, making this his 12th season, and his 8th as referee sincehis promotion in 2018. He is the son of the late NFL side judge and referee, Stan Kemp.

This is Kemp's 8th postseason assignment, including 6 Wild Card Playoffs, a Divisional Playoff, and this, his first Conference Championship.

Since becoming a referee in 2018, Kemp has called 10 Patriots games. They are 6-4 in those contests, including 2-0 this season: he officiated the team's 28-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 10 and its 42-10 victory over the New York Jets in Week 17. New England was flagged a combined seven times for a loss of 69 yards.

Overall in 2025, Kemp has officiated 16 games with 207 accepted penalties among 237 total flags thrown. With an average of 14.8 penalties per game, he is throwing flags at a similar rate as the Patriots' previous two referees in the playoffs, Ron Torbert (15.4) and Shaun Smith (13.9).

Kemp's most-called infractions this season are offensive holding (44+9) and false start (37+0), followed by defensive pass interference (17+1), delay of game (14+0) and defensive holding (9+5).

The full crew for Sunday's game, which as usual for the postseason is an all-star ensemble, looks as follows (original crew of each member in parenthesis):

R 55 Alex Kemp

U 20 Barry Anderson (Ron Torbert)

DJ 21 Max Causey (John Hussey)

LJ 87 Tom Eaton (Alex Moore)

FJ 31 Mearl Robinson (Alex Moore)

SJ 95 James Coleman (Clete Blakeman)

BJ 88 Brad Freeman (Land Clark)

Replay official:Bob Hubbell

Replay assistant:Durwood Manley

Alternates:John Hussey (R), Scott Campbell (U), Danny Short (DJ), Carl Johnson (LJ), Sean Petty (FJ), Boris Cheek (SJ), Tony Josselyn (BJ), Jamie Nicholson (RO)

Kickoff between the Patriots and Broncos at Denver's Empower Field at Mile High has been scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 25.