Implications of NFL's Referee Crew Assigned to Broncos-Bills Game

Carl Cheffers will officiate Broncos-Bills. Here's why it matters.

Nov 3, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; NFL referee Carl Cheffers during the Arizona Cardinals game against the Chicago Bears at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

When the Buffalo Bills arrive to take on the Denver Broncos, we now know who the referee crew will be. It will be head referee Carl Cheffers and his crew.

Is that good or bad for the Broncos? Does it matter?

In the Sean Payton era, Cheffers has been the referee for four games, in which the Broncos have gone 3-1, with their win over the Dallas Cowboys this season being the most recent. In that game, the Broncos were called for seven penalties for 42 yards, including two defensive pass interference calls on Riley Moss. 

There were 12 penalties called on the Broncos in that game, but five were declined. The Cowboys were also called for 12 penalties, nine of which were accepted for 80 yards.

So far, it looks like good news for the Broncos, but that is soon to change. 

Chaffers and his crew call 14-15 penalties per game on average, which is 2-3 penalties more than the league average. This comes as the Broncos are the sixth-most penalized team in the NFL, while the Bills are 17th.

However, when looking at penalty distribution, Chaffers and company are among the more balanced referee crews and rarely show bias in their calls against either team. 

Now, back to some good news: At one point, the Broncos ranked second in the NFL in penalties, but they have cleaned things up some over the past few weeks. There has been a concentrated effort from Payton and the coaches to get things corrected on the operations end, and even players have been doing what they can, like wearing boxing gloves to eliminate grabbing in coverage. 

In games officiated by Cheffers over the past five seasons, the home team won between 56% and 75% of the time. It was 75% in 2024 and 56% in 2025.

As for the four games of the Payton era, the home team was 2-2, with the Broncos' Christmas Eve game against the New England Patriots in 2023 being their lone loss. Denver also beat the Chicago Bears on the road earlier in that season. 

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The Takeaway

Feb 12, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, US; NFL referee Carl Cheffers during Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Is Cheffers being the referee bad news for the Broncos? No, but it also isn’t good news, despite the home team record and the Broncos' record in his games. He is a fair and balanced referee, and not as questionable in Broncos games as other referees are (looking at you, Bill Vinovich and Shawn Hochuli).

No matter the crew, the Broncos can’t allow this game to be decided by a penalty, as it has been at other points this season. The Broncos need to play a clean game and get the job done, with the ref crew a non-factor, as fans have seen in other games this year or in the playoffs. 

The Broncos are playing a disciplined team when it comes to penalties. The Bills are pretty even on penalties, with a 66-60 split on the road vs. at home.

Cheffers has been the referee for five Bills games in the last three years, and they are 4-1, including 1-1 on the road and 2-0 in the playoffs. Suffice it to say, Riley Moss had better be on his best behavior.