The controversial penalties that went against the Green Bay Packers in their 20-17 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field weren't the only reason they lost, but many fans felt the officials should be flagged for those decisions.
Though rookie kicker Trey Smack missed two short field goals and coach Matt LaFleur's fourth-down call inside the Lions' 10-yard line failed, the focus after the frustrating divisional defeat was on the officiating.
The Packers had two questionable roughing-the-passer penalties, an iffy intentional grounding call and an unnecessary roughness call on defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt that was a particular sore spot.
While the decisions angered many Packers fans on social media, others pointed out that Green Bay simply couldn't overcome too many unforced mistakes and had numerous chances to win.
With a game against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, Oct. 29, there isn't much time for the Packers to gripe about their penalty problems.
Here are some fan reactions to the controversial calls and the Packers' performance:
The @NFL should be ashamed by the officiating right now for the Packers game. Two terrible roughing the passer penalties the last two weeks and the grounding penalty was just terrible. This is the best we have for a divisional game? Embarrassing.
— Josh Scott (@JoshScott_AD) October 25, 2026
Even the broadcast crew is on the Packers side on all these ridiculous penalties.
— Wisconsin Family (@Wisconsin_fam) October 25, 2026
Packers may have gotten hosed by penalties, but you just can't make this many mistakes and expect to go into Detroit and win. Drops, missed field goals, and that offsides.
— Marcus Whitman (@TFG_Football) October 25, 2026
Of course that’s how it ends. Packers throw away any valid excuses with that mindless penalty, out of a two minute warning no less.
— Mark Oldacres (@MarkOldacres) October 25, 2026
The refs haven’t helped but they mostly overcame those situations.
They lost because of drops and missed/blocked kicks.
If u score 30 pts per game, u can forget defensive penalties. The defense allowed 20 pts to a high powered Lions offense. The Packers offense leaves too many pts on the field.
— Bill Johnson (@BillJohnson1961) October 26, 2026
Bad penalties were an issue for sure but with multiple drops again and multiple missed kicks, it’s on the Packers for not winning
— Jimmy Christensen (@Jimmy_C08) October 25, 2026
When was the last time you saw the 3 worst officiated games of the NFL season all go against the same team 7 weeks into the season? I feel like this is a fair counter.
— Craig (@burner_craig) October 25, 2026
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Packers fans throw flags on officials for controversial penalties