This column -- a collaboration with NFL officiating guru Joe Gibbs -- went 37-23 (plus 11.7 units) last season using referee tendencies in our handicapping. Gibbs (not the Hall of Fame coach, the NFL referee expert who tweets @NFLrefstats1) is working with SportsLine again to deliver three weekly picks. Before you make any Week 1 NFL picks or NFL parlays, you need to see what Gibbs and SportsLine senior analyst Larry Hartstein have to say about the officiating crews' tendencies.

A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources with an analytical approach he honed working for Pro Football Focus. Hartstein tied for 52nd place (out of 1,598 entries) in the 2022 Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, going 53-34-3 ATS. His weekly contest selections form the basis of his NFL best bets column, which is 79-48-2 (62.2%, +25.95 units) since its inception in 2022.

We can tell you Hartstein and Gibbs are betting Under 42.5 (FanDuel) in Steelers-Falcons, in part because Brad Rogers is officiating. In his career, Rogers has been known as an Over ref. He's 43-33 to the Over all-time. But lately that's not the case.

"Since the start of the 2022 season, Rogers' numbers have changed significantly," Gibbs said. "Rogers is 20-13 (61%) to the Under the past two seasons."

Last year, Rogers led the NFL in calling offensive holding. And in the past two seasons, he has led the NFL in calling offensive pass interference. Over the past three seasons, Rogers' crews have called the lowest percentage of their penalties on defensive backs. The Steelers' defensive backs, Gibbs noted, accounted for 34% of the team's total penalty yardage -- above the NFL average. 

Hartstein and Gibbs also are sharing key officiating angles in Broncos-Seahawks and Cowboys-Browns. You need to see this key referee data before locking in your picks!

So what's the play for Cowboys-Browns? And what other officiating edges can be found on the Week 1 slate? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Larry Hartstein's Week 1 NFL officiating trends, all from the expert who is up 25.95 units on his NFL picks!