What to Know About Lions Official for Bills Game

The officiating crew for the Detroit Lions' Thursday Night Football matchup against the Buffalo Bills has been revealed.

Ron Torbert has been tabbed to be the head referee for the matchup between two teams viewed as potential championship contenders Thursday night at New Highmark Stadium. Torbert has been a head referee since the 2014 season.

In his career, Torbert has served as the head referee for five Lions games including one playoff game. Torbert last officiated the Lions in their Thanksgiving loss to the Green Bay Packers last season. In Week 1 of this season, Torbert presided over the Arizona Cardinals' win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Detroit has not had a lot of success with Torbert as the official, coincedentally or not. They are 1-4 in these games, including their Divisional Round loss to the Washington Commanders in the 2024 season after they had achieved the No. 1 seed in the NFC on the heels of a 15-2 regular season.

The Bills are much more familiar with Torbert, as he has served as the head referee for 11 of their games in his career. Buffalo is 5-6 in those games, with the most recent one being their loss at home to the Phialdelphia Eagles in December of last season.

Torbert has officiated two Super Bowl games in his career. He handled the Los Angeles Rams' win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, then the Philadelphia Eagles' win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

Last year, Torbert's crew handled one postseason game, which was a Wild Card matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots. The Patriots won the game, 16-3.

According to NFL Penalties, Torbert ranked eighth in total flags last season with 211. His calls had a slight skew toward the home team, as home teams were whistled for 118 penalties compared to 93 called on the visiting teams in games he did during the 2025 campaign.

Last week, the hosting Chargers were called for eight penalties while the visiting Cardinals were hit with seven penalties. With 15 penalties, Torbert's crew ranked tied for sixth-most with Shawn Hochuli and John Hussey's crews.

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