McKinney Slams Officiating After Packers' Loss to Lions

Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney voiced strong criticism of the officiating following his team's 20-17 loss to the Detroit Lions. McKinney described the calls as "bulls--t" and stated that the referees "for sure" influenced the outcome of the game.

The Packers were penalized eight times, with several calls drawing scrutiny from players, fans, and broadcasters alike.

"It’s kinda f--king up the games if I’m being honest," McKinney said, according to The Athletic's Matt Schneidman. McKinney also reportedly stated the game was "for sure" stolen by the referees.

Two roughing the passer penalties were particularly contentious. One was called on defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. as he was engaged with Lions center Cade Mays. Mays appeared to trip Cox, causing him to fall into Lions quarterback Jared Goff. The second occurred late in the game when defensive tackle Karl Brooks pressured Goff, leading to a flag for roughing the passer. Fox analyst and former quarterback Tom Brady reacted on the broadcast, questioning the call.

"We’re not seeing the same calls for our quarterback," McKinney stated, labeling some of the officiating "bulls--t."

Other controversial calls included a third-quarter penalty on Devonte Wyatt for unnecessary roughness after he tackled Amon-Ra St. Brown. According to reports, Wyatt tackled Brown after the whistle, and Brown had inadvertently kicked referee Terry Killens during a skirmish. Multiple Packers players indicated they did not hear a whistle. A pass interference penalty in the same quarter also negated an interception by Packers cornerback Brandon Cisse.

Referee Alex Moore explained the Wyatt penalty to a pool reporter, stating, "We ruled that the play was over... the tackler made the tackle, the play was over. Then, there was an additional action, and he basically tackled him again with force after the play was over." Moore also addressed an intentional grounding penalty on Jordan Love, stating the throw "did not make it to the line of scrimmage."

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur declined to comment on the penalties. "I didn’t even want to comment on any of the penalties," LaFleur told reporters.

McKinney acknowledged the potential for fines due to his comments. "It is what it is. I see what is going on and it is what its, they going to fine you for anything at this point in this league," he said. "I would rather get fined and try to help my team out cause I see what’s going on. I see it’s killing us. We all see it, we all see what’s going on. Everybody see what’s going on. The fans see what’s going on. We see what’s going on, we out there."

He added, "It’s a lot of s--t that doesn’t make sense right now, but at the end of the day we still have to find ways to go out there and try to win these games. It’s making it a little bit harder when the officiating is that way, if I’m being honest."