The Chargers and Patriots won’t just be sizing each other up Sunday night. In the playoffs, officiating crews matter, and this Wild Card matchup brings a referee whose tendencies are well known around the league. Los Angeles travels to Foxborough for the primetime Wild Card window with a veteran crew assigned, one that both teams will have studied closely as the postseason begins.
Who Are the Referees in the Chargers-Patriots Game?
The NFL assigned Ron Torbert as referee for the Chargers–Patriots Wild Card game, entrusting the moment to one of its most experienced officials. Torbert is in his 16th NFL season and his 12th as a referee, with this marking his 15th career postseason assignment.
His playoff résumé includes five Wild Card games, seven Divisional Playoffs, one conference championship, and Super Bowls LVI and LIX, both worked as a referee.
Torbert has a substantial history with New England. Since becoming a referee in 2014, he has officiated 12 Patriots games, with New England going 7-5 in those contests. That includes a 41-28 win over the Chargers in the 2018 Divisional Round and a 27-24 victory against Los Angeles during the 2021 regular season.
Earlier this season, Torbert worked on New England’s Week 1 loss to the Raiders, a game that featured 21 accepted penalties between the two teams.
The referees for Wild Card Weekend: pic.twitter.com/OKpsiQl7QU
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) January 5, 2026
The Chargers’ most recent experience with Torbert came in Week 15 of the 2023 season, a Thursday night loss in Las Vegas. From a league-wide perspective, Torbert’s crews have been among the more active flag-throwing units.
In 2025, his crew ranked fifth in the NFL in total flags thrown, officiating 16 games with 205 accepted penalties and 255 total flags. Offensive holding and false start were the most common calls, with 43 and 40 accepted penalties, respectively.
However, some trends stand out. Torbert’s crew has been notably conservative with roughing the passer, calling it just once across 16 games.
Defensive pass interference has also been rare, with only nine such calls, the fewest in the league. That combination could allow defensive backs more latitude downfield.
At the same time, unnecessary roughness has been an area of emphasis. Torbert’s crew tied for the second-most unnecessary roughness calls in the NFL, something an aggressive Chargers defense will need to keep in mind.
Another notable split is location-based. Over the past three seasons, Torbert’s crews have tended to issue more penalties against home teams. In 2025 alone, 116 penalties were called on home teams compared to 89 on road teams, a trend worth monitoring in Foxborough.
As is standard for the postseason, this is an all-star officiating group rather than Torbert’s full regular-season crew.
Here is the full officiating crew for Sunday night’s Wild Card matchup:
- Referee: Ron Torbert
- Umpire: Steve Woods
- Down Judge: Jay Bilbo
- Line Judge: Mark Stewart
- Field Judge: Ryan Dickson
- Side Judge: Keith Washington
- Back Judge: Jimmy Russell
- Replay Official: Mike Wimmer
- Replay Assistant: Artenzia Young-Seigler
Kickoff between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Chargers is set for 8 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
