Lions defensive end Trey Flowers had never been called for an illegal hands to the face penalty in his five-year NFL career entering Monday, and many believe that streak should still be intact.
But late in Detroit's game against the Packers, referees whistled him twice for dubious hands to the face calls, extending Green Bay drives that resulted in a touchdown and Mason Crosby's game-winning field goal as time expired.
Here are the two "hands to the face" penalties called against Lions DE Trey Flowers in the 4th quarter #DETvsGB pic.twitter.com/fWCFCccJzg
— Kevin Boilard (@247KevinBoilard) October 15, 2019
After the game, Flowers, Detroit coach Matt Patricia, the referees and other voices from around the league chimed in.
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Here’s Trey Flowers talking postgame about the two penalties against him in the Lions loss: pic.twitter.com/TwiuzBYcmP
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) October 15, 2019
“It’s the head and neck area, so I’m not really sure. They called it, so obviously they saw it.”
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) October 15, 2019
Lions HC Matt Patricia addresses the late penalties at the podium right now.https://t.co/8azcNxTE3n pic.twitter.com/z3KfMpkx5g
Awful officiating once again overshadows the game. #GBvsDET
— Tedy Bruschi (@TedyBruschi) October 15, 2019
And just because your team benefits in one game from putrid officiating doesn’t make it less putrid. One day your team will be on the other side of trash like last night.
— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) October 15, 2019
I was blessed to broadcast NFL games for 35 years. I have never seen the officiating as bad as it is this year.
— Mark Champion (@nbamark) October 15, 2019
Pool report on the hands to the face penalties on Trey Flowers pic.twitter.com/RA0aJNRJ0S
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) October 15, 2019
That is sickening... the @NFL needs to look at a way to prevent that from happening. Two phantom hands to the face calls really hurts us tonight. Yes, we could have scored TDs, but @Lions played too well to have the game end this way. #DETvsGB @espn
— Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) October 15, 2019
Obviously Trey Flowers twice got called for illegal hands to the face in the 4th q - and neither time did his hand touch face or neck. Second one helped cost Detroit the game. Such an embarrassment on the Monday Night stage.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 15, 2019
NFL officiating, especially on away from the ball calls, is a joke. Lions got screwed tonight, but this happens every week to variety of teams. The difference between a win and a loss is so minuscule that these missed judgement calls often decide the outcome.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 15, 2019
There needs to be an explanation about this. You can’t make that call TWICE and nothing comes of it. That’s embarrassing.
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) October 15, 2019