NFL legend Tom Brady went off on the officials during the Detroit Lions’ 20-17 win over the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers’ record worsened to 4-3 after this loss, which has many fans upset over how the officiating played out over the course of the clash.
One play seemed so egregious that even the legendary Brady on commentary could not hold himself back from openly disagreeing with the NFL’s officials on a specific call.
Tom Brady openly sounded off on NFL officials after a play in Lions vs. Packers
On FOX’s broadcast of the Lions vs. Packers clash, Brady openly criticised the referees for a roughing the passer call on Packers DT Karl Brooks making contact with Lions QB Goff after the release of an 18-yard pass.
“My goodness. What is that? There’s no way! Brooks on the tackle, he kind of makes a great play. It’s a bang-bang play; it rolls off his body. It’s a great throw by Goff. It’s definitely not roughing the passer.”
Fans reacted to Brady openly criticising this play, with some going off on Brady for being the one to complain about this while others just issued their concerns with the NFL.
“We can call out the NFL all we want, but the reality is they won’t change anything until their numbers go down. The only thing people like (Roger Goodell) respond to is their bottom line. We need to hit them where it hurts and turn the games off for a while,” said one angry fan.
“Tom is the reason they make these calls though,” opined one fan.
“The frustrating part is that nobody seems to know what roughing the passer is anymore, including the guys making the calls,” said another fan about the confusion around what constitutes a ‘roughing the passer’ play.
“Well yeah, Mr. GOAT, we all saw it, except for the zebras on the field… apparently it’s like Big Brother: the rules change!” said another fan.
“Right message, wrong messenger,” said a fan objecting to Brady being the one to complain.
The contact was a textbook fair tackle without excessive force, especially with Brooks rolling off the body after the play.
The 15-yard penalty that the Packers received for this play helped keep Detroit’s drive alive, as they managed the clock and kicked a 22-yard field goal to win as time expired.
This came as part of a series of contentious calls against Green Bay which fans believe cost them a close game. Other contentious calls include a RTP call on Brenton Cox Jr. and unnecessary roughness on Devonte Wyatt in the third quarter, and a fourth-quarter intentional grounding on QB Jordan Love.
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