NFL officiating has been under scrutiny throughout the 2026 season, and Week 7 wasn’t an exception. The Detroit Lions secured a narrow 20-17 win over the Green Bay Packers, but several questionable penalties against the latter drew significant attention for all the wrong reasons. And now, the league has reportedly taken a tough decision for the officiating crew ahead of the Week 8 Sunday Night Football.
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According to Football Zebras on X, the league is moving an officiating crew away from a Prime Time matchup just days after its controversial officiating during the Packers-Lions matchup. Alex Moore’s crew, which officiated the matchup, was initially assigned for Sunday’s matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders.
This week, however, the NFL moved Moore’s crew to the New England Patriots-Miami Dolphins afternoon matchup. As that happened, Shawn Hochuli’s crew will now be officiating the Eagles-Commanders matchup. Per the report, the decision was “more about optics rather than a disciplinary action.”
The reassignment occurred days after the Packers-Lions controversial game, which drew significant criticism from the fans and NFL commentators for multiple calls. Green Bay was penalized eight times for 81 yards, compared with five penalties for 50 yards against Detroit.
While the difference in penalty numbers wasn’t enormous, the timing of some decisions became a major problem for the Packers. For starters, during the third quarter, the Lions quarterback Jared Goff completed a pass to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie initially brought the receiver down.
However, St. Brown appeared to get back up and continue moving as though the play was still active, considering there wasn’t any whistle from the refs. Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt then grabbed St. Brown and brought him down again. But as Wyatt attempted to take Brown down, umpire Terry Killens Jr. became involved in the collision and was knocked to the ground.
St. Brown’s cleat appeared to make contact with Killens, who threw his penalty flag while lying on the turf. Wyatt was penalized for unnecessary roughness. The Packers, however, were furious because their players believed the play was still active.
“I’m confused too. I guess we’re supposed to, just, I don’t know. I can’t even tell you,” said Wyatt after the game. “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.”
Meanwhile, another controversial decision involved Packers defensive end Brenton Cox Jr., when he was penalized for roughing the passer after making contact with Goff. The problem, according to Cox and the Packers, was that he had been blocked into the quarterback. Cox explained after the game that he was attempting to stop his momentum but ended up making contact with Goff’s abdomen.
“Maybe like stop in my tracks,” said Cox. “I don’t know, I’m trying to give you a good answer, but it’s disappointing that these are veteran guys — I’m not trying to go after the refs — well-informed guys, and I feel like you’ve got to know the difference between what’s intentional and what’s not.”
Other controversial calls included an intentional grounding decision against the Packers quarterback Jordan Love and Brandon Cisse’s interception that was wiped out by a defensive pass interference penalty. At the same time, it was Karl Brooks’ roughing-the-passer that drew attention from FOX announcer Tom Brady.
The Packers and Lions were tied 17-17 with 2:50 remaining. During the subsequent play, Brooks was flagged for roughing the passer, prompting Brady to express his frustration, stating, “No, my goodness! What is that? Brooks kind of makes a great play—that’s definitely not roughing the passer!… You can’t keep tacking on 15 yards.”
With the controversial calls continuing to draw attention, the NFL’s reported decision to move Moore’s crew has added another layer to the officiating debate. However, with no indication of a formal punishment, the reassignment appears to be more about avoiding further scrutiny than holding the officials accountable for their performance in Detroit.