The Green Bay Packers left Ford Field on Sunday convinced the officiating had cost them a division game, and referee Alex Moore’s explanation of the most disputed call did little to change their minds. Detroit won 20-17 on Jake Bates’ 22-yard field goal as time expired, after a third-quarter personal foul on defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt set up the touchdown that put the Lions back in front.
Green Bay was flagged twice more for roughing the passer, giving it eight this season through seven games. Jordan Love has yet to draw one for the Packers’ offense.
The play with no whistle
Midway through the third quarter, linebacker Isaiah McDuffie was dragging receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown down after a 4-yard catch when St. Brown got back to his feet and started to move. Wyatt tackled him again. In the same moment, umpire Terry Killens Jr. was knocked to the ground, with St. Brown’s cleat appearing to strike him, and Killens threw his flag from his back. The unnecessary roughness call turned a third-and-7 at the Green Bay 23 into a first down at the 11, and two plays later Jared Goff threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams for a 17-14 lead.
Moore told pool reporter Ben Raven after the game that the crew ruled the play dead before Wyatt’s hit. “We ruled that the play was over. I can’t honestly hear if there was a whistle or not, but the tackler made the tackle, the play was over. Then, there was an additional action, and he basically tackled him again with force after the play was over,” Moore said. Asked whether that second contact was the foul, he answered: “It was exactly the additional action.” Our unnecessary roughness explainer covers how late hits after the play are judged.
Matt LaFleur argued the call at length during a TV timeout. “There was no whistle blown and the guy continued to run and our guy didn’t hear a whistle, he continued to play too, and then we get called for a penalty,” the coach said afterward. “They were trying to tell me the play was obviously dead. I’m like, ‘How do you know if you don’t hear a whistle?’”
Wyatt said he would do it again. “What if he would’ve got up and ran for a touchdown? Then everybody would be looking at D-Wy like ‘You let him go.’ I feel like I did the right thing. Flag or not, I feel like I did the right thing.”
Head Coach Matt LaFleur speaks to the media🎙️ https://t.co/xPDJGQBvgO
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 25, 2026
Two roughing calls and a grounding flag
On Detroit’s next series, edge rusher Brenton Cox Jr. was flagged for roughing the passer after being blocked into Goff, wiping out what looked like a three-and-out. Cox said he tried to pull up but his hands hit Goff in the stomach. “I’m not trying to go after the refs,” he said, adding that experienced officials should “know the difference between what’s intentional and what’s not.”
Four plays later, a pass interference call on rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse erased his interception of Goff, although Cisse broke up passes in the end zone on third and fourth down to keep the score unchanged. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Love was flagged for intentional grounding on a throw toward tight end Tucker Kraft. Moore said the pass fell short of where it needed to land: “We ruled that although the quarterback was outside of the tackle box, the pass did not make it to the line of scrimmage.” Brian Branch intercepted Love one play later.
The second roughing flag came on the winning drive. After Trey Smack missed a 35-yard field goal that would have put Green Bay ahead late, defensive tackle Karl Brooks was penalized for his hit on Goff, which even the broadcast booth said was not a foul. Moore was not asked about either roughing call in the pool report.
McKinney: “I would rather get fined”
LaFleur stopped short of criticizing the crew after the game. “I don’t even want to comment on any of the penalties. It is what it is. You gotta play above it,” he said, later adding, “I can say what I really think but I don’t think it does any good.”
All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney did not hold back. “I don’t know how the NFL’s going to treat it, but I’m not a big fan of the refs right now,” he said, before describing much of the officiating with an expletive. “We might have a drive where we’re getting stops but you’re calling penalties and it’s like, this is not a penalty. To me, it just don’t really make any sense, and it’s killing our momentum.” Asked whether his words could draw a fine, he said: “I would rather get fined and try to help my team out because I see what’s going on and it’s killing us.”
It is not the first time this season Green Bay has complained about the whistles: the Packers also took issue with the officiating in their season-opening loss at Minnesota and in last week’s 23-13 win over Dallas. The loss drops them to 4-3, while Detroit moves to 4-2. Any league discipline from the game, including for McKinney’s comments, would show up in the Week 7 fines list due on Saturday, Oct. 31.
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