The divisional rivals’ game between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions was certainly the talk of the town, not because of the drives, but because of controversial penalties. Former New England Patriots star Julian Edelman addressed the same on his show.
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“I understand there’s going to be missed calls or there’s going to be bad calls,” Edelman said on the latest episode of The Jules & Gronk Show. “But we need to do it consistently, man. That was bad, man, and I hope to God that none of those refs are in the playoffs or near the Super Bowl. Because that was blasphemous.”
Patriots legend Rob Gronkowski also sounded off, and recalled that Edelman’s reaction was immediate during the game as well: “I walk in, I go, ‘Julian, what’s wrong? You look tired, and Julian goes, ‘You don’t understand. The referees have taken it out of me. It’s been JV football all day. That’s why I’m tired. I’m sick and tired of watching all this JV nonsense that’s been going on.'”
Edelman was seemingly “tired” of the officiating that was done on Sunday in the Detroit Lions’ 20- 17 win. So what was so controversial in the game?
The topic of the night became the penalties given against the Packers, which totaled eight for 81 yards lost. The most important of them all came after first half, when defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt got flagged for unnecessary roughness after he tackled Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
With the Lions trailing 14-10, quarterback Jarred Goff threw one to St. Brown. St. Brown ran just 4 yards as linebacker Isaiah McDuffie tried to drag him down. But as the players heard no whistle, St. Brown continued to run, with Wyatt tackling him for good, which also tripped umpire Terry Killens Jr., who then flagged Wyatt.
This gave the Lions a first down at the 11-yard line, and they scored just two plays later, taking a 3-point lead. Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur also questioned the decision.
“No whistle blown and the guy continued to run and our guy didn’t hear a whistle,” LaFleur said. “He continued to play too and then we get called for a penalty. So I don’t know; they were trying to tell me that 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.”
In-game referee Alex Moore said that while he can’t tell if the whistle was blown or not, “we ruled that the play was over.” Wyatt, though, was confused at first, but later admitted, “Flag or not, I feel like I did the right thing.”
But this call wasn’t the only controversial one, as there were two roughing the passer calls on edge rusher Brenton Cox Jr. and defensive lineman Karl Brooks. FOX TV announcers questioned the call on Brooks as well.
These calls made for a total of eight roughing the passer penalties on Green Bay, the most among the teams. What is more bizarre is the fact that Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love has not been favored for a roughing the passer call even once this season, though Love has said he will continue discussing this with the officials.
“We have those conversations; tell them to look out for it. It’s tough,” Love said.
But if we look at the broader perspective, the Lions also lost 50 yards due to five penalties called against them, though reports indicated calls against the Packers were harsher.
Edelman has asked for more consistency from the officials amid fans’ criticism of bad calls during the season. After a loss, Green Bay now sits last in the NFC North and will face the Carolina Panthers in Week 8 on Thursday, October 29, looking to improve their 4-3 record.