Friday's travel chaos forced the league to reassign officials to Week 10 games within driving distance of home, leaving side judge Don Willard working as referee twice on Sunday.
The NFL scrambled its officiating assignments for Week 10 after Friday's nationwide ground stop threatened to strand crews far from their games. Rather than risk officials missing kickoff, the league reassigned them to games within driving distance of their hometowns.
The fallout hits hardest at the referee position. Three backup referees are being pressed into service because the usual assignees can't get where they need to be: umpires Barry Anderson and Duane Heydt, and side judge Don Willard. Willard draws the unusual distinction of serving as referee in two games on the same Sunday, with Carolina-New Orleans among the contests affected.
The NFL confirmed the shakeup in a statement, saying the ground stop's ongoing impact on air travel necessitated the changes. It is an unusual scramble for a league that normally locks in officiating assignments well in advance, and a reminder that even pro football isn't immune to a bad weekend at the airport.