Devonte Wyatt heard no whistle, but referee Alex Moore ruled the play dead anyway. That gap cost Green Bay the game. During the third quarter of the Packers game against the Detroit Lions, Jared Goff targeted Amon-Ra St. Brown, who was pulled down by linebacker Isaiah McDuffie. St. Brown immediately stood back up to keep running, prompting Wyatt to tackle him to the ground. Official Terry Killens Jr. even took collateral damage in the pileup, throwing a yellow flag from the turf. But the whistle never blew, or did it?

The play ended with Wyatt getting penalized for unnecessary roughness after tackling St. Brown post-play. Officials insisted Wyatt took the receiver down long after the action had stopped. And the NFL seems to be siding with that explanation, even though the Packers nation is still questioning the call. 

“Checked in with the NFL today to see if it had anything to add to yesterday’s pool report,” ESPN NFL Nation Packers reporter Rob Demovsky wrote on X. “They’re standing by referee Alex Moore’s explanation. When asked for comment, the NFL confirmed Moore’s explanation through a pool report but did not issue a separate official statement on the penalty.

“On the unnecessary roughness penalty on Devonte Wyatt, was told sometimes officials do not blow the whistle immediately if they do not see the ball as they are moving in to work the dead-ball action, and that when a player is down on the ground for that long and is making no effort to get up while being wrapped up by another defensive, it should be clear and obvious to the players that he is down.”

According to Demovsky, St. Brown ceased all movement for about 1.5 seconds. He affirmed that even though he was on the ground for a bit longer than that, the receiver was still moving. However, as per Alex Moore, the play was already over. 

“We ruled that the play was over,” Moore said when asked if the whistle blew before Wyatt tackled St. Brown during Detroit’s second-and-11 at the Packers’ 27-yard line with 7;46 remaining in the third quarter. “I can’t honestly hear if there was a whistle or not, but the tackler made the tackle; the play was over. Then, there was an additional action, and he basically tackled him again with force after the play was over.”

Moore confirmed that it was “exactly the additional action” that got Wyatt the penalty. 

But the debate still felt unsettling to many. The Packers, including Wyatt, McDuffie, and head coach Matt LaFleur, didn’t agree with the unnecessary roughness penalty. 

Devonte Wyatt and others question the controversial penalty

“It wasn’t no whistle,” Wyatt said. “He [St. Brown] was literally like this on about one hand, not like this [fully down]. Blow the whistle [if he’s down]. He didn’t blow the whistle. He [St. Brown] got up. He tried to run.” 

Wyatt claimed that he did the right thing, regardless of the flag. He suggested that things would have been worse for the Packers if St. Brown had simply rushed for a touchdown without any interference from the defense. That would put the defensive lineup on the spot, with people blaming them for letting the receiver score a touchdown. 

“I did not hear a whistle,” McDuffie said, making a similar claim. 

Cornerback Keisean Nixon later claimed that it was a “terrible” and “crazy call.” Even Matt LaFleur confirmed that he didn’t hear the whistle. 

“There was no whistle blown, and the guy continued to run, and our guy didn’t hear a whistle — he continued to play too, and then we get called for a penalty,” LaFleur said. “So I don’t know. They were trying to tell me the play was obviously dead. I’m like, ‘How do you know if you don’t hear a whistle?’ So I don’t know if you guys heard a whistle; I did not hear a whistle.” 

The frustration was real for the Packers. After all, the penalty gave the Lions an automatic first down. And they scored a touchdown to take a 17-14 lead just two plays later. Of course, Trey Smack evened the score with a 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. But Jake Bates succeeded on a 22-yard field goal attempt and secured a clutch victory. 

Yet according to Packers tight end Tucker Kraft, Green Bay had the game but “gave it away.” He didn’t believe that the referees’ controversial calls played any role in the 20-17 defeat. 

The NFL’s refusal to walk back Devonte Wyatt’s bizarre penalty leaves the Packers understandably frustrated. Punished for playing to a whistle that never blew, Green Bay can only take Tucker Kraft’s advice and look ahead.