Tom Brady rips roughing calls in Lions' win over Packers

The flags had been bugging people long before the final drive. A second-half roughing call on Brenton Cox Jr. already had Barstool's Packers guy losing it.

Eric Hubbs

@BarstoolHubbs

Another week another atrocious roughing the passer call. How can eye in the sky not reverse that?

Then came the one that decided it. The game was tied 17-17 with about 2 minutes left when Karl Brooks got flagged for roughing Jared Goff on a pass to Sam LaPorta. That gave Detroit new life on the drive, and Bates walked it off from 22 yards. Brady was on the call for FOX, and he did not hold back.

Barstool Sports

@barstoolsports

“My goodness. What is that?” Tom Brady is sick of these referees

Per Pro Football Talk, Brady was critical of all 4 of the game's questionable penalties, the 2 roughing calls included. That's not a guy hunting for a viral moment. It's the most famous quarterback ever, a guy who spent 23 years getting protected by these exact rules, saying the officials went way too far. Hubbs was right there with him.

The number is the part that should get somebody at 345 Park Avenue on the phone. According to Packers On SI, it was the 8th roughing penalty called on Green Bay this season. Their opponents have been flagged for 0. Green Bay fans have been yelling about this for weeks, and the betting pods were already on it before kickoff. Previewing Week 7, the VSiN crew was still stewing over the Packers' trip to Dallas.

VSiN

@UCTZVetvz6GVreC_N4fp92VA

“That one Cowboys Packers drive where they just kept inventing penalties on the Packers was just like, what are we doing?”

0:45

Of course, the internet couldn't let Brady off that easy. This is the same guy whose Bucs got a famously soft roughing call on Grady Jarrett against Atlanta in 2022, so the memes showed up right on time.

Memes

@PardonMyMeme

Tom Brady complaining about roughing the passer calls

Jokes aside, the Packers can't pin all of it on the stripes. Trey Smack missed 2 field goals, from 26 and 35 yards, and DJ Wonnum blocked the 35-yarder with 3:21 left, which is what set up Detroit's final drive. Still, the loss drops Green Bay to 4-3 and last in an NFC North where Minnesota is 6-0, Chicago is 5-2 and the Lions are 4-2. When the best quarterback ever is calling your penalties 'What is that?' on national TV, the league is going to have to answer for it eventually.