Earlier this week, the NFL announced the referee assignments for the four NFL Divisional Round Gamesincluding the Detroit Lions and Washington’s commanders.
THE Lions and the Commanders will face off Saturday at 8 p.m. at Ford Field. Ron Torbert, a 15-year veteran of the black and white stripes, will lead the officiating crew.
The winner between the Lions and Commanders will advance to the NFC Championship Game, where they will face the winner of the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams with a trip to Super Bowl 59 on the line.
Torbert has officiated at least one playoff game in 11 years, including Super Bowl 56 in 2021 between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals. This will be his 13th postseason mission. In addition to his responsibilities as an NFL referee, Torbert is an attorney and Michigan State and Harvard graduate.
According to Reference of professional footballTorbert’s team has committed 226 penalties worth 1,903 yards in 16 games this year. His crew took an average of 14.13 penalties per game for an average of 118.94 yards between two teams. These numbers are slightly higher than the 2024 league average of 12.86 penalties per game for 104.33 yards.
The team did not appear in a Lions game this season, but officiated the Commanders’ Dec. 1 game against the Tennessee Titans. The Commanders won that game against the lowly Titans 42-19 with 12 penalties against Tennessee and seven against Washington.
An NFL officiating crew consists of seven positions: the referee, referee, try judge, line judge, back judge, side judge and field judge. Other officials on Saturday are Duane Heydt (referee), Max Causey (field judge), Tim Podraza (linesman), Mearl Robinson (field judge), Boris Cheek (field judge) and Jonah Monroe (back judge) .
More: Why the Detroit Lions can’t wear their new black jerseys in the NFL playoffs
This article was originally published on Detroit Free Press: View referee assignments for Lions vs. Commanders in divisional rounds
