Dubious roughing calls on Packers in loss to Lions seem to draw outrage everywhere but Detroit

The Lions beat the Packers Sunday in a game that moved Green Bay to 4-3, which is good for last place in the NFC North, a half game behind 4-2 Detroit.

The Lions got some help from officials along the way.

The 20-17 Detroit win was a tight battle down the stretch that featured some dubious roughing the passer calls that did not go Green Bay’s way. For a game with these stakes attached, there was plenty of noise around those calls — almost off it slamming officials for how they called the game.

There were two roughing calls against Green Bay that stood out. The first took place with 4:06 remaining in the third quarter and Detroit holding a 17-14 lead.

‘That’s a gift’

Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw an incomplete pass on third-and-10 that appeared to set up a Detroit punt. But Packers linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. got called for a soft roughing-the-passer call that Fox play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt called “a gift.”

Cox barely touched Goff’s torso with two hands as he fell to the turf. Goff responded with a dramatic sell job, falling back on his backside with his legs in the air.

THE WORST ROUGHING THE PASSER PENALTY in NFL HISTORY #packers Master class acting by Jared Goff? #NFLpic.twitter.com/0enlZFKECX

— Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhifer) October 25, 2026

Upon replay, Tom Brady called it “not much at all.” Fox officiating analyst Dean Blandino said “I don’t like it as roughing.”

But the call was the call, and it gave the Lions a first down when they would have otherwise been punting from their own 48. Detroit ran eight more plays from there to the Green Bay 6-yard line before the drive stalled out with a failed fourth-and-5 conversion.

Another roughing call helps set up game-winning FG

The next questionable roughing call arrived with 2:40 remaining and the game locked in a 17-17 tie.

This time, Goff completed a pass for a first down to Sam LaPorta on second-and-8. Defensive tackle Karl Brooks hit Goff just as Goff released the ball.

He didn’t hit Goff low. He didn’t hit him high. He didn’t hit him late. He didn’t drive his body weight into Goff.

Tom Brady: “No, my goodness. What is that?! There’s no way!… That’s definitely not roughing the passer!”

Fox rules analyst Dean Blandino: “That’s teach-tape tackle. That’s not roughing the passer.” 🏈🦓🎙️pic.twitter.com/dsJki3xW8Yhttps://t.co/KGuLgB2lrd

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 25, 2026

Brady again protested the call.

“My goodness, what is that?” Brady proclaimed. … “That’s definitely not roughing the passer.”

Blandino described the play as a “teach-tape tackle.”

A penalty was called nonetheless. Instead of an 18-yard gain to the Detroit 45, the play accounted for 33 yards to the Green Bay 40. The Lions drove to the Green Bay 4-yard line and for a game-winning field goal by Jake Bates as time expired.

Would Detroit have driven for the game-winning field goal without that late roughing call? We’ll never know. But we can say with certainty that the call worked in Detroit’s favor.

‘Let’s just go to flag football’

All-Pro Packers pass rusher Micah Parsons remained sidelined for Sunday’s game as he continues to recover from surgery to repair a torn ACL last season. But he was watching and shared his thoughts on the officiating on social media.

“Let’s just go to flag football if everytime a qb gets touched it’s roughing the passer!” Parsons wrote while tagging the NFL and NFL officiating.

@NFL@NFLOfficiating let’s just go to flag football if everytime a qb gets touched it’s roughing the passer!

— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) October 25, 2026

Packers coach Matt LaFleur was visibly upset during the game. He bit his tongue when asked about the calls in his postgame news conference.

#Packers HC Matt LaFleur was asked about the roughing the penalty calls

“There were some tough calls but it is what it is.” pic.twitter.com/F7AaHhteCE

— Cameron Ezeir (@camezeir) October 25, 2026

“I don’t even want to comment on any of the penalties,” he said. “I just — it is what it is. You’ve gotta play above it.

“I thought there were some some tough calls, but it is what it is.”

Packers safety Xavier McKinney, however, did not bite his tongue.

Packers All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney unloads on the officiating. Have a listen. Says he’d rather get fined and try and help his team. pic.twitter.com/zW6FIp4eUR

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) October 26, 2026

“I would rather get fined and try to help my team out because I see what’s going on, and I see that it’s killing us,” McKinney said. “We all see it. We all see what’s going on. Everybody see’s what’s going on, the fans see what’s going on. … You’re not even reviewing what you’re calling. …

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p style=”text-align:left”>”Even they’re looking at it, like, OK that’s not it. I’m asking other refs and they’re like ‘Oh, I’m not over there.’ It’s a lot of s*** that doesn’t make sense right there.”