Dan Campbell Takes Responsibility for Lions’ Trick-Play Penalty That Wiped Out TD
The coach cited unclear instruction on the under-center motion rule as the reason the opening-drive trick play was flagged.
Overview
- Officials ruled illegal motion because a quarterback who lines up under center must fully stop before the snap if he then goes in motion, and Jared Goff did not come to a complete stop per the pool report.
- On the play, Goff aligned under center, motioned wide, center Graham Glasgow snapped directly to David Montgomery, and Montgomery threw back to Goff for an apparent score.
- With the touchdown erased, Detroit settled for a 28-yard field goal on fourth-and-goal to open the scoring.
- The Chiefs won 30-17, dropping the Lions to 4-2, after a game in which Detroit was flagged four times for 38 yards and Kansas City was not penalized.
- Campbell declined to press the penalty-discrepancy issue publicly, and the episode renewed attention on prior Lions trick plays that were nullified under his tenure.