The Detroit Lions faced the Kansas City Chiefs in a Week 6 showdown that kicked off with excitement. But that only lasted until officials wiped out a touchdown by Lions quarterback Jared Goff with an illegal motion call. The officials later noted they had made the call after discussions, and no help was received from New York or Kansas City. But head coach Dan Campbell was reportedly told the call came from New York itself. Now, Goff has spoken up about it. 

Speaking on 97.1 Ticket, Goff noted that the call had come from “upstairs,” and not from the field refs, echoing what coach Campbell had said. “I know he talked about it this morning, and what he said is what they told me, too. They were told from somebody that it was illegal, from either upstairs or elsewhere. And that’s the last I’ll say about it.”

The play was a clever trick, a surprise touchdown catch by Goff from running back David Montgomery. But the celebration was brief. The flag came over a minute after the play, and killed the early momentum the Lions had going for themselves. Officials said Goff didn’t properly set himself before going into motion, a violation that negated the score and forced a field goal instead. 

The league rules state that when the ball is snapped, only one player in the backfield can be in motion, and they must move parallel to or away from the line of scrimmage. If a quarterback starts in a T-formation and goes in motion, they must stop completely for at least one full second before the snap. Goff, officials ruled, didn’t pause long enough. But Goff expressed his surprise, noting he’d never heard of this “new version” of the rule before, and also noted their game did not depend on that play entirely.

As Goff noted, “Essentially, it’s an illegal formation that they’re calling from the booth, which I’ve never heard of. But that’s not the difference in the game. It was a cool play that would’ve been fun to score on, and it would’ve been nice to get a touchdown there, but I don’t think that by any means would have flipped the game. There was a ton of other plays that they made that we didn’t.”

Dan Campbell, meanwhile, was asked the same question about where the call came from. But his answers left a lot of stuff still up in the air.

Dan Campbell’s take on the officials’ flag

While referee Craig Wrolstad told Campbell on the sideline that the call came from New York, the ref later noted in an interview that the decision was made by the crew themselves, and not New York. Dan Campbell’s Wednesday interview on 97.1 Ticket raised further questions. Was he told that the call came from New York? And was it an official who informed him of that? Campbell’s answers to both questions were “Yes” and “Yep.”

As the confusion grows, the Lions have asked for clarification from the league. But regarding the response they have received, Campbell maintained silence, noting: “We asked on all of that. We asked on all of it. And I can’t tell you any of that.”

In the meantime, coach Campbell has taken all the responsibility for that call on himself. He made it clear the error wasn’t player’s fault, but a coaching breakdown instead.

As he noted in a prior interview, “It’s a real sore spot. I told the team, man, I take full responsibility for that. I do. Players did exactly what we told them to do, Goff did exactly what we told him to do, David did, and I will take that. You have to make it very clear on where you are, and I did not do that. And I told them I take responsibility for that.”

The road ahead? Jared Goff has noted they need to do “a little more research” on the rules. Detroit’s challenge is simple: nail the details and avoid costly mistakes from killing momentum. As the Lions face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next in Week 7, their game will depend on staying sharp, avoiding flags, and turning these hard lessons into wins.