Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will encounter an experienced refereeing crew should they reach the Super Bowl as the NFL announced Ron Torbert as the lead official
NFL referees will be firmly in the spotlight for the rest of the playoffs after a series of controversial calls went in favor of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in their AFC Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans.
On Tuesday, the NFL named an experienced crew to officiate Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. Ron Torbert, who has a JD from Harvard Law School, will serve as lead referee in his second-ever championship game.
His crew also includes umpire Mike Morton, down judge Max Causey, line judge Mark Stewart, field judge Mearl Robinson, side judge Boris Cheek, back judge Jonah Monroe, and replay official Kevin Brown.
Torbert began his NFL officiating career in 2010 before being promoted to crew chief in 2014. He served as an alternate for Super Bowl LIII before as the lead referee for Super Bowl LVI. In his free time, he works as an attorney.
Umpire Mike Morton won Super Bowl XXIV as a member of the then-St. Louis Rams. Per Football Zebra, he will become the first person to both win a Super Bowl and officiate one.
Texans edge rusher Will Anderson was particularly aggrieved after being flagged for a late hit on Mahomes in the first half of last Saturday’s contest. “We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game,” he said postgame.
Referee Ron Torbert most recently called Saturday’s NFC Divisional Round game between the Commanders and Lions (
Image:
Getty Images)
“I had forcible contact to the face mask area, and so I went with roughing the passer on that play,” head referee Clay Martin said of the incident.
“You can end up having the debate on whether it was forceful or not, and that’s going to be one of those conversations for the competition committee to consider next year,” said NFL Senior VP of Officiating Walt Anderson. “But when he comes in right there face-to-face, officials are going to call that.”
Another play saw two Texans defenders collide headfirst trying to tackle Mahomes on a scramble only to be flagged for a late hit. Later, the Kansas City quarterback embellished a soft push while running out of bounds that was widely panned by ex-NFL players and pundits on social media.
“We knew going into this game that it was us versus everybody, and I mean everybody,” said second-year Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans.
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