Referee Report: Bengals Get Good News in Stripes for Season Opener vs. Buccaneers

As if the orange jerseys aren’t enough of a positive vibe for the Cincinnati Bengals, they’ll also have a good-luck charm wearing black and white in Sunday’s season opener.

John Hussey will be the referee when the Bengals play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Paycor Stadium.

The Bengals are 5-1 in the last six games Hussey has worked, including last year’s Week 16 triumph at Miami. And they are 7-4 overall with Hussey, who has been a head referee since 2015.

The last time Hussey worked a game in Cincinnati was 2023, a Monday Night Football victory against the Los Angles Rams.

He also was the referee for the 27-24 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022, and the infamous Vonn Bell hit, Ryan Finley smile game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on MNF in 2020.

One of the most interesting assignments Hussey has had was in 2024, when the Bengals asked for storied villain Ron Tobert to be pulled off their Week 18 Saturday night game against the Steelers with their playoff hopes hanging in the balance.

The official flip cards for the game had already been printed, listing Torbert as the referee for Bengals-Steelers. Instead, he was sent to work the New Giants game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

If you’re not a fan of yellow flags, Hussey provides more good news as he and his crew ranked 14th with 11.2 penalties accepted per game in 2025.

In 2024, Hussey’s crew ranked 15th (11.5).

Hussey has earned playoff assignments in nine consecutive seasons, working the NFC Championship Game in 2022 and Division Round games in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025.

Here is the list of Bengals games Hussey has worked as the head referee:

Week 9, 2015: Bengals 31, Browns 10

Bengals two penalties for 10 yards; Browns 4-28

Week 12, 2017: Bengals 30, Browns 16

Bengals 4-35; Browns 7-69

Week 14, 2018: Chargers 26, Bengals 21

Bengals 6-34; Chargers 6-38

Week 5, 2019: Cardinals 26, Bengals 23

Bengals 7-60; Cardinals 12-96

Week 14, 2020: Cowboys 30, Bengals 7

Bengals 3-25; Cowboys 5-30

Week 16, 2020: Bengals 27, Steelers 17

Bengals 2-16; Steelers 4-30

Week 13, 2022: Bengals 27, Chiefs 24

Bengals 6-65; Bengals 4-35

Week 3, 2023: Bengals 19, Rams 16

Bengals 7-49; Rams 4-28

Week 17, 2023: Chiefs 25, Bengals 17

Bengals 3-20; Chiefs 3-39

Week 18, 2024: Bengals 19, Steelers 17

Bengals 6-25; Steelers 3-20

Week 16, 2025: Bengals 45, Dolphins 21

Bengals 2-10, Dolphins 3-20

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