Referee Report: Sunday's White Hat for Bengals vs. Dolphins Holding Down NFL Average

Referees are on a record pace for flags through the first 4 weeks

Dec 14, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; National Football League referee Brad Rogers (126) calls a penally during the second quarter of a game between the Denver Broncos and the Green Bay Packers at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While NFL referees are throwing flags at a record pace through the first four weeks of the 2026 season, the white hat on the call for the Cincinnati Bengals vs. Miami Dolphins games on Sunday has one of the lowest counts.

Brad Rogers is in his 10th season as an NFL official and eighth as a head referee.

His first game as a referee also was Zac Taylor’s first as Cincinnati head coach, the 2019 season opener in Seattle, a 21-20 Bengals loss.

The Bengals are 3-3 with Rogers as the referee, with his most recent assignment coming in Week 14 last year in Buffalo, where the Bills won 39-34.

Rogers’ first Bengals game was the wild 37-36 win in Atlanta in 2018 when he was a field judge.

The Dolphins are 1-3 with Rogers.

Brad Rogers and his crew average 12.5 per game. Only Ron Torbert (11.5) and Alex Kemp (12.0) are averaging fewer.

Rogers averaged 13.3 last year, which was the sixth most. He also ranked sixth in 2024 (13.8) and was third in 2023 (12.4).

The league did not reward Rogers with a postseason assignment in either of the last two seasons.

His last postseason game was an AFC Wild-Card contest between the Chiefs and Dolphins in the 2023 season. That was the last time he worked a Miami game.

Rogers’ only other postseason assignment was as a field judge for an AFC Wild-Card game between the Chargers and Patriots in the 2018 season.

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

Week 14, 2025: Bills 39, Bengals 34

The Bengals had four penalties for 30 yards; Bills 6-68

Week 16, 2024: Bengals 24, Browns 6

Bengals 5-35; Browns 5-41

Week 9, 2024: Bengals 41, Raiders 24

Bengals 7-60; Bills 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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