Bengals Referee Report: One of League's Longest Team-Ref Droughts Ends Sunday in Buffalo

CINCINNATI – One of the longest referee droughts in the NFL will come to an end Sunday when Brad Rogers calls the game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills.

While Rogers called two Bengals games last year, the last of which was the Week 16 win against the Cleveland Browns, he hasn’t worked a Bills game in more than four years.

The last time Rogers worked a Buffalo game was Nov. 21, 2021, in a 41-15 loss at Indianapolis.

He hasn’t worked a game at Highmark Stadium since Oct. 6, 2019, which was his first season as a head referee.

Earlier that year, Rogers made his referee debut on the same field where Bengals head coach Zac Taylor made his, in a Week 1 game at Seattle.

To put the length of time between Rogers last Bills game in perspective, the longest any active referees have gone without doing a Bengals game is a little more than two years.

It belongs to Shawn Smith, whose last Cincinnati game was Week 4 of 2023 at Tennessee.

The next longest belongs to Alex Kemp, whose most recent Bengals game was Week 2 last year.

The Bengals are 3-2 with Smith as the head referee.

The Bills are 1-2.

Rogers and his crew are middle of the pack in penalties called this season with 13.09 per game, which ranks eighth.

In 2024, he ranked fifth with 13.81 penalties per game.

Rogers has had one playoff assignment, which came in the 2023 Wild Card game between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs.

Here is a closer look at the other Cincinnati games Rogers has called:

Week 16, 2024: Bengals 24, Browns 6

The Bengals had 5 penalties for 35 yards; Browns 5-41

Week 9, 2024: Bengals 41, Raiders 24

Bengals 6-70; Raiders 6-51

Week 12, 2023: Steelers 16, Bengals 10

Bengals 5-36; Steelers 5-55

Week 16, 2020: Bengals 37, Texans 31

Bengals 5-35; Texans 6-46

Week 1, 2019: Seahawks 21, Bengals 20

The Bengals 7-57; Seahawks 8-55

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