NFL executive says controversial Lions penalty vs. Packers should not have been called
VP of Operations Troy Vincent admitted Tuesday 'the foul wasn't there' late in Monday's game
A day after the Detroit Lions saw a divisional win over the Green Bay Packers slip from their grasp in part because of controversial penalties late in Monday night's NFC North matchup, an NFL executive has admitted that at least one of the debated fourth-quarter calls against Detroit should not have been made.
As Newsday's Bob Glauber reported Tuesday, NFL VP of operations Troy Vincent said at this week's league owners meetings that the second of two hands-to-the-face penalties levied against Lions pass rusher Trey Flowers was actually no penalty at all.
"After you review it," he said, "the foul wasn't there."
Flowers was pressuring Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers with the Lions up 22-20 on Monday night when officials flagged him two times for illegally using his hands in the face of Green Bay left tackle David Bakhtiari. One of the penalties took away a third-down sack by the Lions, and the other all but sealed the Packers' victory following a go-ahead touchdown by Rodgers and Co. Replays of the so-called penalties, however, appeared to clearly show that Flowers did not, in fact, violate rules about hands to the face -- and that, if anyone deserved to be flagged, it was actually a Packers lineman.
Looks like there was an illegal hands to the face on one of those Trey Flowers plays... but it was on the Packers #Packers #Lions #MNF pic.twitter.com/Z4IZZRYkWi
— John Breech (@johnbreech) October 15, 2019
Monday night's officiating crew initially defended the calls, which were justified as penalizing "prolonged, forceful contact to the head and neck area." Flowers himself, however, told reporters after the game he "didn't think hands to the chest was a penalty."
There was some controversial officiating in Lions-Packers and there's a lot to go over. Fortunately Will Brinson, John Breech, Ryan Wilson and Sean Wagner-McGough are here to break everything down on the latest episode of the Pick Six Podcast. Listen to the full show below and be sure to subscribe right here.
















