Super Bowl 56: Who's in the officiating crew for Rams vs. Bengals?
Sports fans rarely think about the officiating or who is blowing the whistles during a game unless their team is involved in a crucial play or replay that makes the officials front and center in any complaint.
It will be no different for the ones wearing the striped shirts during Super Bowl 56, especially if the officiating turns sideways.
Ron Torbert will be refereeing his first Super Bowl when the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams battle for the Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 13 from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the Rams' home stadium.
The 58-year-old Torbert has been an NFL official for 12 years and a referee since the 2014 season. Torbert, a Harvard Law School graduate, was an attorney when he wasn't throwing flags and retired from practicing law in 2019.
He will be the third African-American to referee a Super Bowl, following Mike Carey in Super Bowl 42 (New York Giants-New England Patriots) and Jerome Boger in Super Bowl 47 (Baltimore Ravens-San Francisco 49ers).
Who are the Super Bowl 56 officials?
Referee: Ron Torbert
Umpire: Bryan Neale
Down Judge: Derick Bowers
Line Judge: Carl Johnson
Field Judge: Rick Patterson
Side Judge: Keith Washington
Back Judge: Scott Helverson
Replay Official: Roddy Ames
Replay Assistant: Sean McKee
How does the NFL choose officials for the playoffs?
The NFL determines postseason assignments based on a grading system used to evaluate officials' performance every week. The best graded officials will then be assigned to work playoff games. Officials are on year-to-year contracts and for those who are not up to par, it could mean remediation, a demotion or being asked not to come back the next season.
How frequently does Torbert's crew throw flags?
Tolbert's crew worked 18 games in the regular season and threw 219 penalty flags (26 declined, eight offsetting) which averages to be 11.8 flags thrown, along with the 10 penalties accepted each game.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Super Bowl 56: Who's in game's officiating crew for Rams vs. Bengals?
