Packers blast officiating after loss to Lions: 'It's bulls---' and 'f---ing up the games'

Safety Xavier McKinney unloaded on the referees following a 20-17 defeat, calling out phantom penalties that kept key drives alive for Detroit and that drew criticism from Tom Brady Oct 26, 2026 at 11:28 am ET • 4 min read The Green Bay Packers had their three-game win streak snapped on Sunday, as Jared Goff and the rival Detroit Lions defeated them, 20-17. While Packers kicker Trey Smack missed a 35-yard field goal with 3:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, setting the stage for a Lions' game-winning drive, there were several questionable officiating calls that played into Detroit's favor as well.In all, Green Bay was penalized eight times for 81 yards. Many of those calls, though, were called into question and outright blasted by the Packers. Safety Xavier McKinney felt it was necessary to make it clear how disgusted he was with the calls on Sunday, calling them "bullshit" after the game. "I don't know how the NFL's going to treat it, but I'm not a big fan of the refs right now," McKinney said. "I don't think it's great officiating, if I'm being completely honest. I think it's bullshit a lot of the times."One of the most controversial calls was a roughing-the-passer penalty on Karl Brooks with 2:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, adding 15 yards to an 18-yard gain by Sam LaPorta. Even Fox commentator and legendary quarterback Tom Brady couldn't hide his disgust. "What is that? There's no way," Brady said. "That's definitely not roughing the passer." Many of the questionable calls involved personal foul penalties that either seemed like a stretch or were completely unclear. Earlier in the third quarter, the Lions were given an automatic first down when Brenton Cox Jr. was called for roughing the passer after attempting to catch himself while fighting through a block. He did put his hands on Goff, but did not extend or make any illegal action that could have qualified as roughing the passer. At least, that's what Brady and rules analyst Dean Blandino believe. "I don't know," Cox said about his penalty, per ESPN. "I'm trying to give you a good answer, but it's disappointing that these are veteran guys -- I'm not trying to go after the refs -- well-informed guys, and I feel like you've got to know the difference between what's intentional and what's not."In the third quarter, Devonte Wyatt was flagged for unnecessary roughness after he took down Amon-Ra St. Brown, who got up with the ball and tried to run as if the play was still alive. Wyatt slung St. Brown down, who accidentally cleated an official in the gut. The ref threw the flag from his back. "There was no whistle blown, and the guy continued to run, and our guy didn't hear a whistle -- he continued to play too, and then we get called for a penalty," said Packers head coach Matt LaFleur after the game. "So I don't know. They were trying to tell me the play was obviously dead. I'm like, 'How do you know if you don't hear a whistle?' So I don't know if you guys heard a whistle. I did not hear a whistle."Overall, LaFleur didn't want to address the penalties. He knew he would be subject to fines if he lashed out for the officials' rough afternoon. "I don't even want to comment on any of the penalties," LaFleur said. "I just -- it is what it is. You got to play above it, and I thought there were some tough calls, but it is what it is." McKinney, who said he didn't care about being fined by the NFL for complaining about the officiating, argued the phantom penalties killed momentum for the Packers, and that the calls simply don't make sense. "It's annoying even talking about it because these are critical drives throughout the game, and we might have a drive where we're getting stops but you're calling penalties, and it's like, this is not a penalty," McKinney said. "To me, it just don't really make any sense, and it's killing our momentum, it's killing our drives, and it's kind of f---ing up the games, if I'm being honest."I would rather get fined and try to help my team out because I see what's going on, and it's killing us." Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon also sounded off on the officiating, saying he felt the calls were clearly one-sided. Calls that went against the Packers could have also easily gone against the Lions, he thought. "We can't really leave it in the refs' hands, it can always go both ways, they clearly don't like Jordan Love. They don't throw nothing on him ever," Nixon said, via WLUK-TV Fox 11.On the first play of the fourth quarter, Love was called for intentional grounding despite tight end Tucker Kraft clearly being the intended target. Referee Alex Moore told PFWA pool reporter Ben Raven that it was called since the pass did not reach the line of scrimmage, but Brady flat-out said this was "definitely not grounding" on the telecast. In what is good news for the Packers, they will have to shift their focus to Week 8 quickly, as they host the Carolina Panthers on "Thursday Night Football."