Packers safety Xavier McKinney showed no fear of a fine after Sunday’s highly controversial loss to the Lions, claiming the referees engaged in “bullsh*t” officiating and “for sure” stole the game from his team.
The Packers were penalized in the contest, not a terribly high number relative to the record number of penalties officials are doling out per game this year. However, at least four of Green Bay’s penalties were so outrageous that even the Fox broadcast crew, Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, and rules analyst Dean Blandino, were left exasperated by the calls.
“It’s kinda f–king up the games if I’m being honest,” McKinney said. As The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman reported, McKinney also said the referees “for sure” stole the game.
Most of the controversy swirled around two calls: both roughing-the-passer penalties on the Packers.
In one instance, Lions quarterback Jared Goff completed an 18-yard pass to Sam LaPorta. A split second after he threw the ball, Packers defensive lineman Karl Brooks hit Goff. There was no helmet-to-helmet contact, and Brooks didn’t even put his body weight on Goff or drive him into the ground. Nonetheless, the referees flagged Brooks for roughing the passer, and the added penalty yards moved Detroit to the Green Bay 40.
The play left Tom Brady apoplectic.
“No, my goodness, what is that? There’s no way,” Brady said. “Brooks on the tackle kind of makes a great play. It’s a bang-bang play. He rolls off his body. It’s a great throw by Goff. That’s definitely not roughing the passer.”
The other play was a slightly less egregious but no less ridiculous penalty on Packers linebacker Brenton Cox, who barely touched Goff and even seemed to try to stop him from falling.
After watching the replay, Brady said, “Not much at all.” Blandino backed Brady again by saying, “I don’t like it as roughing.”
“We’re not seeing the same calls for our quarterback,” McKinney said.
The two roughing calls were by no means the only controversial calls. Packers defensive tackle Devontae Wyatt received a 15-yard penalty on a play in which no player – Lion or Packer – committed a penalty. Instead, it appears the referee threw the flag because Wyatt’s cleat impacted his midsection.
On another play, a no-call early in the game, a Lions defender hit Packers tight end Tucker Kraft with the crown of his helmet directly in his facemask and was not flagged.
“It is what it is,” McKinney continued. “I see what is going on and it is what its, they going to fine you for anything at this point in this league,” he said. “I would rather get fined and try to help my team out because I see what’s going on. I see it’s killing us. We all see it; we all see what’s going on. Everybody sees what’s going on. The fans see what’s going on. We see what’s going on, we out there.”
He added, “It’s a lot of s–t that doesn’t make sense right now, but at the end of the day we still have to find ways to go out there and try to win these games. It’s making it a little bit harder when the officiating is that way, if I’m being honest.”
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