Packers OL David Bakhtiari Tipped Refs on Possible Penalties Against Lions

Green Bay Packers offensive lineman David Bakhtiari could be one of the most hated players for [...]

By Brian Jones

Green Bay Packers offensive lineman David Bakhtiari could be one of the most hated players for Detroit Lions fans right now. On Monday night, the Lions lost to the Packers 23-22 and fans as well as players and coaches are blaming the officials for calling to hands to the face penalties on Lions defensive end Trey Flowers who was facing Bakhtiari. After the game, Bakhatri said he talked to the officials about Flowers committing penalties against him.

"I went over to the ref," Bakhtiari said after the game, before slipping out into the night after his team's 23-22 comeback win Monday via USA Today, "I said, 'Hey, are we not calling hands to the face again? Because the past three plays, I've been staring at the sky.' And he's like, you know, he's not looking at my side, but I at least made him aware."

The first penalty came early in the fourth quarter and it was on third down. Video evidence shows Flowers holding Bakhtiari at the chest area, but he never put his hands to his face. That penalty proved to be costly because the Packers were able to score three points to cut the Lions lead 22-20. The second penalty came with less than two minutes left in the game and the Packers were driving to kick a game-winning field goal. It looked like the Lions got a third-down stop to get the ball back, but Flowers was called for the same penalty again and he was facing Bakhtiari.

"I can definitely tell you," Bakhtiari said, "for a good portion of the game, I was getting my throat punched in, and I was looking up at the sky a fair amount. If you think about it, if your hand is in my throat, you're probably hitting my facemask, which is pushing my head up in the sky."

As for Flowers, he felt like he did nothing wrong and he didn't understand why the penalties were called.

"It was hands to the chest initially," Flowers said. "I was doing it all game. I didn't know that was a flag to the chest. I didn't think hands to the chest was a penalty. I thought hands to the face (was a penalty).

"I had him right here to the chest, and the second time I changed it. I don't think that was a penalty."

The NFL held its league meetings today and one of the topics of discussion was the penalties called in the game. Troy Vincent, a former NFL player and current league executive, admitted the officials made an error when it comes to one of the hands to the face penalties.

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