The Detroit Lions will get Ron Torbert and his crew for Thursday night’s matchup with the Buffalo Bills, and that assignment brings plenty of recent history with it.
Torbert has been a head referee since the 2014 season, and this will be his sixth Lions game overall, including one playoff appearance. Detroit’s previous run-ins with him have not gone especially well. The Lions are 1-4 in those games, a stretch that includes their Divisional Round loss to the Washington Commanders in the 2024 season after Detroit finished 15-2 and earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
His most recent Lions assignment came on Thanksgiving last season, when Detroit lost to the Green Bay Packers. Earlier this season, Torbert worked the Arizona Cardinals’ win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1.
Buffalo is far more familiar with Torbert. He has been the head referee for 11 Bills games in his career, and Buffalo has gone 5-6 in those contests. The latest came in December of last season, when the Bills lost at home to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Torbert’s résumé also includes two Super Bowls. He officiated the Los Angeles Rams’ win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI and the Philadelphia Eagles’ win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
Last season, his crew was assigned one postseason game, the Wild Card matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots. The Patriots won that one, 16-3.
The numbers from last year show a crew that threw a lot of flags. According to NFL Penalties, Torbert ranked eighth in total flags with 211. His calls leaned slightly toward the home side, with home teams flagged 118 times and visiting teams 93 times during the 2025 campaign.
In his most recent game, the Chargers were penalized eight times while the Cardinals were called for seven. That 15-penalty total tied Torbert’s crew with Shawn Hochuli and John Hussey’s crews for sixth-most last week.
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