Per NFL communications, Ron Torbert, who worked Super Bowl LVI and Super Bowl LIX as the referee, will assume the same role for the Steelers-Browns Week 6 game at Acrisure Stadium.
Torbert, like the Steelers, had last week off. The last game he worked was the Green Bay Packers-Dallas Cowboys tie on Sunday Night Football in Week 4. He also worked the Minnesota Vikings’ win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3, the Arizona Cardinals-Carolina Panthers matchup in Week 2, and the New England Patriots-Las Vegas Raiders game in Week 1.
Torbert is regarded as one of the best officials in the league. This season, his crew has called false start and offensive holding 15 times each, their most-called penalty. They haven’t called any other penalty more than five times this season. However, flags have flown in all four games they’ve called, as they haven’t called fewer than 17 penalties in a game all season.
The home team has been overwhelmingly impacted, which may not be good news for the Steelers. This year, Torbert’s crew has called 45 penalties on the home team and just 27 on the visitors. That’s not a trend, however, as home teams were penalized just eight more times than away teams with Torbert as the referee in 2024, and that discrepancy was the same in 2023. It largely stems from the Vikings-Bengals Week 3 game this year, as Minnesota was penalized 13 times at home to Cincinnati’s four penalties. The Vikings won that game 48-10.
Torbert last called a Steelers game in 2023, when he worked the Steelers-Browns Monday Night game that Pittsburgh won 26-22. In that game, the Steelers were penalized five times for 31 yards while the Browns were penalized eight times for 81 yards. He also worked the Steelers’ win over the Atlanta Falcons in 2022.
Torbert is also an attorney who got his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
He’s an official who should control the game, and for an AFC North matchup, it’s the type of official that both teams will want to see to help prevent things from getting out of hand.
