John Hussey will serve as the head referee for Sunday’s Week 12 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears. The two teams will have one of the least flag-happy crews in football.
John Hussey will be the referee for the Week 12 Sunday game between the Steelers and the Bears at Soldier Field. #Steelers #NFL
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) November 19, 2025
Per NFLpenalties.com, Hussey and crew average just 14.2 flags per game. That is sixth-lowest among the 17 crews around the league. With 112 total flags thrown on the season, only Land Clark, Brad Rivers, and Brad Allen’s crews have thrown less, though Hussey has officiated only nine games this season.
According to the penalty website, here are the infractions most-often called under Hussey.
1. False Start – 31
2. Offensive Holding – 17
3. Defensive Pass Interference – 13
The 17 holding calls are tied for the fewest of any crew, matching the 17 thrown by Allen and company. That could speak good news to both offensive lines able to get away with more aggressive blocks than usual. OT Troy Fautanu and C Zach Frazier are tied for the team-high with two holdings apiece. Spencer Anderson and Broderick Jones have been flagged once while Isaac Seuamlo hasn’t been penalized once. In fact, Seumalo hasn’t been flagged at all this season.
Sunday will mark the first Steelers game Hussey has called this season. His last one came the Steelers-Bengals rematch in 2024, a game that combined just nine total penalties and only three against Pittsburgh. Since 2021, the Steelers are 2-2 in games he’s officiated.
Hussey broke into the NFL in 2002 as a line judge. He was promoted to head referee for the 2015 season and is one of the league’s longest-tenured officials. He has officiated more total games, 380, than any of the active head ref in the league.
He officiated Super Bowl XLV as a line judge and served as an alternate head ref for two other games.
Hussey is the CEO of CUDDLY, a company whose mission is to help “animal-focused non-profits so that they can fulfill their potential and continue to do good.”
Hussy attended Idaho State from 1981-1982, missing Steelers RB Merril Hoge by one season.
The Steelers and Bears kickoff Sunday at 1 PM/EST.
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