DETROIT – There was some questionable officiating on Thanksgiving Day in the Detroit Lions’ divisional matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field.
Trailing 10-7 on Thursday (Nov. 27) with a little over three minutes to play in the second quarter, Packers quarterback Jordan Love scrambled up the middle on third down and three for a two-yard gain following an aggressive tackle by Aidan Hutchinson.
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The down was initially third and eight, but Detroit drew a penalty for having 12 men in the huddle on defense, moving the sticks closer to the endzone.
On fourth and one from the two-yard line, Love lined up in shotgun formation as the play clock ticked under 10 seconds.
After calling an audible, Love ran back into shotgun position as the play clock ticked five, four, three, two, when the Packers’ offensive lineman flinched, causing a five-yard penalty.
As the fan cheered and celebrated, the officiating crew got together and granted head coach Matt LeFleur a timeout.
An outside referee ran up to the other three officials and said he had granted the timeout, which turned cheers into jeers as the replay showed the false start occurred first.
The call made Lions head coach Dan Campbell smirk in dismay as the referee explained the bad news.
Love, after the gift, found wide receiver Romeo Doubs on an out route to take a 17-7 lead, leading to more jeers as the Packers got away with one.
Sideline reporter Tom Rinaldi said LeFleur was heard shouting the timeout command, which is why it was granted.
After the controversy, Jared Goff and the Lions ran their two-minute offense and scored just before halftime, cutting the deficit to 17-14.
The Lions will get the ball to open the second half.