By Blessing 
Jared Goff Left Confused After Costly Penalty Erases Lions Touchdown vs. Chiefs
The Detroit Lions’ Week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was already tough to swallow. But what made it even harder was seeing a beautifully executed trick-play touchdown wiped off the scoreboard by a penalty few on the team seemed to understand.
What began as a clever bit of play-calling from head coach Dan Campbell turned into a moment of frustration and confusion — especially for quarterback Jared Goff, who admitted he was baffled by the officials’ explanation after the play.
A Touchdown That Never Stood
On Detroit’s opening drive, the Lions appeared to strike first. After nearly 10 minutes of controlled offense, Goff capped the drive with what looked like a highlight touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line.
The Lions dialed up something special — Goff lined up under center before going in motion as running back David Montgomery took a wildcat snap. A former high school quarterback, Montgomery rolled out and floated a perfect pass to Goff, who made the catch in the end zone while Amon-Ra St. Brown threw a key block to clear the way.
For a moment, it felt like the perfect start. But seconds later, the referees threw a flag — calling illegal motion and erasing the touchdown.
After the game, Goff admitted that he and the coaching staff were taken completely by surprise.
> “I guess we all need to do a little research on what exactly went wrong,” Goff said. “My hands were not under center and I was set to begin the play. As far as I was concerned, I thought that was the only thing I needed to do.”
A Rule Few Knew Existed
According to the officiating crew, Goff’s position near the center — not just his hand placement — technically classified him as a quarterback. That made him ineligible to go in motion without stopping first.
It was a nuanced interpretation, and Goff admitted it was the first time he had ever heard of such a rule.
> “They were saying that because of how close I was to the center, that then declares me as a quarterback and then I can’t go in motion,” Goff explained. “I was only under the impression that it was my hands under center. So, that’s a new version of that rule that I had never heard of, and I think a lot of our coaches had never heard of.”
The call wiped out what could have been a statement touchdown early in the game. Instead, the Lions settled for a field goal — one of several missed opportunities in their eventual 30–17 defeat.
A Late Call That Added to the Frustration
Adding to the frustration was the delay in making the call. Detroit’s offense was already lined up for the extra point when officials huddled and overturned the play.
> “We were lining up for the extra point,” Goff said. “It’s essentially an illegal formation that they’re calling from the booth, which I’ve never heard of. But that’s not the difference in the game. It was a cool play that would’ve been fun to score on, and would’ve been nice to get a touchdown there, but I don’t think that by any means would have flipped the game.”
While Goff didn’t blame the officials for the loss, he admitted moments like that can hurt a team’s rhythm in close games.
Looking Ahead
Despite the confusion, Goff was quick to turn the page. He pointed instead to the Lions’ inability to finish drives as the real difference in the game.
> “We did run the ball well. I thought we threw the ball well at times,” he said. “Finishing those drives with touchdowns is what it came down to. They did it, we didn’t.”
Detroit now shifts its attention to next Monday night’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, determined to clean up the details and make sure the next creative play design ends in points that actually count.