It was Thanksgiving, not Christmas, but the Green Bay Packers got a nice gift from officials.
On a crucial fourth-and-1 late in the second quarter, with the Detroit Lions trailing 10-7, the Packers looked like they committed a false start penalty. But after a conference, officials ruled that Packers head coach Matt LaFleur had called timeout before the infraction.
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The replay showed that LaFleur wasn’t even close to signaling the timeout before the penalty happened. It is possible that LaFleur verbally called for a timeout to the official on the sideline near him, but that’s a little hard to believe given how loud Ford Field was for a huge fourth-down play.
It was a massive benefit to the Packers, who led from start to finish in a 31-24 victory. They still had fourth-and-1 instead of fourth-and-6 and still went for it instead of kicking the field goal. Jordan Love hit Romeo Doubs for a touchdown and a 17-7 lead. Had the penalty been assessed, Green Bay likely would have kicked a field goal. That was a difference in four points.
The Lions weren’t pleased that the Packers were given the timeout. Looking at the replay, they had a good argument.
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After the game, LaFleur appeared to know he and the Packers got away with one, telling reporters, “Of course they got it right” before giving a wink.
