NFL Players, Fans Go After Refs for Blown Calls in Lions vs. Packers Game

The Green Bay Packers were able to defeat the Detroit Lions on Monday night to improve their record to 5-1 on the year. However, the win didn’t come without controversy as the Lions were hit with two questionable penalties which led to 10 points for Green Bay in the fourth quarter. Lions defensive end Trey Flowers was called for hands to the face twice, which gave the Packers a fresh set of downs and they were able to rally from nine points down to earn the victory.

“I didn’t think hands to the chest was a penalty,” Flowers said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I thought hands to the face, but I had him right here in the chest. The second time I changed it to right here [another spot on the chest]. That’s part of a move that I do and, yeah. So, nah, I don’t think that was a penalty, but they did, so…

“They saw something different than what actually happened and they called what they thought they saw. I was doing it all game. I didn’t know that was a flag to the chest, so I could change it to [another spot on the collar]. They called it again.”

And it looks like Flowers isn’t the only one who didn’t understand the penalties. Scroll down to see NFL players and fans sounding off on officials for the calls.

The Penalties

Here’s a look at the two penalties on Flowers which led to 10 points for the Packers. He was going up against offensive tackle David Bakhtiari on both plays and he had his hand on the chest and not the face. Officials could have thought Bakhtiari’s head was being pushed back, but as the video shows, that was not the case. 

Los Angeles Rams OLB Clay Matthews

Clay Matthews played for the Packers for 10 seasons before joining the Rams and he has dealt with his share of bad calls before. He said, “The storyline for the 2019 season continues to be the refs inability to make the accurate and correct calls week in and week out. Al Riveron continues to blindly side with his refs and the current status quo. Something must change! Zero accountability.”

Former Lions RB Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders is a Lions legend and NFL Hall of Famer, so he was really mad at the officials as he believes the calls on Flowers cost the Lions a win. He said, “That is sickening… the @NFL needs to look at a way to prevent that from happening. Two phantom hands to the face calls really hurt us tonight. Yes, we could have scored TDs, but @Lions played too well to have the game end this way.”

Former Packers and Lions OL TJ Lang

TJ Lang is one of the few players who have played for the Lions and the Packers. He said, “In my 11 years involved with the NFL, I’ve never seen worse officiating than this year and it’s not even close.” 

Looks like the NFL has a big problem on their hands that needs to be fixed right away. 

Former NFL Head Coach Tony Dungy

Tony Dungy couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He said, “The bogus personal foul and the non-call Pass Interference was six more points. Four wrong calls is hard to imagine.”

The Lions weren’t just mad about the phantom hands to the face penalties, but there was also a pass interference play that was not called late in the game that could have given the Lions seven points and potentially put the game away.

 

Former NFL Head Coah Jack Del Rio

Jack Del Rio also decided to speak his mind on the issue that continues to get worse each week. He said, “4 major blown calls tonight, all four went against the Lions. DB going for the INT called for Unnecessary Roughness. A non-call on a blatant DPI. Then two ridiculous calls for hands to the face. Refs can’t guess and can’t get these wrong. Lions would’ve won by 2 scores.”

FS1 Personality Skip Bayless

Skip Bayless pretty much said the NFL should be “embarrassed” by what happened on Monday night. He said, “Obviously Trey Flowers twice got called for illegal hands to the face in the 4th q – and neither time did his hand touch face or neck. Second one helped cost Detroit the game. Such an embarrassment on the Monday Night stage.”

Former Packers FB John Kuhn

John Kuhn knows the officials got a lot wrong on Monday Night, but he doesn’t care because his former team got the win. Kuhn said, “Is the officiating worse than ever this year? Obviously. But complaining about it won’t change history. Trust me! #failmary Packers are still 5-1!”