Lions trick-play TD nullified by illegal trick

In the first quarter of the Sunday night game against the Chiefs, the Lions ran a trick play that backfired and nullified a touchdown.

Quarterback Jared Goff was behind the center in formation. He went in motion and running back David Montgomery took the direct snap. Montgomery threw a pass to Goff for an apparent touchdown. Referee Craig Wrolstad and the crew convened to discuss the play, then a flag came out, which Wrolstad announced was illegal motion on Goff.

A quarterback that takes a position a yard or less behind the center is a “T-formation quarterback” in the rulebook. A T-QB is in a hybrid position. He’s not a lineman, but he is allowed to penetrate the plane of the snapper’s beltline like the offensive linemen are. He’s also considered a back, but he’s not an eligible receiver. A T-QB can move to a shotgun position and remove all those restrictions, and he becomes a standard back and an eligible receiver. However, in moving positions, the quarterback must come to a complete stop for one second, or else it is an illegal motion penalty. Rule 7-4-8:

It is also illegal motion if a T-Formation Quarterback goes in motion and fails to come to a complete stop for at least one full second prior to the snap.

This is also technically an illegal touching of a pass, since the ineligible Goff was the first to touch the pass. By not setting in the new position to establish as a back, he remains an ineligible player.

Wrolstad did take what seemed to be a long time to determine the foul, and threw the flag only after a conference. It is possible that part of the delay was to determine if illegal motion or illegal touching (or both) were the appropriate call. In this case, calling both would have been more complete, but it is sensible to call just the illegal motion, since they are both identical 5-yard penalties and this type of illegal touching is not a loss of down. (Similarly, a player attempting to leave the field before the snap is a too-many-men foul, but we wouldn’t expect an offside call if he is on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage when doing so.) Ideally, this would have been resolved a little quicker, seeing as it was clear that Goff never set for a full second.

However, in a post-game interview with a pool reporter, Wrolstad said that he could not see Goff in motion when he was out of view, presumably blocked by Montgomery. There was also a question if Goff was set behind the center in the first place.

For Lions coach Dan Campbell, it is another attempt to execute a trick play that was not in compliance with the rules. In the 2023 season, Campbell attempted to have a lineman report eligible in a manner that appeared to be deceptive. It backfired when referee Brad Allen misunderstood who was actually reporting eligible.

Pool reporter interview with referee Craig Wrolstad

Q: Can you walk me through the play itself and what Jared Goff did to draw the penalty (first quarter illegal motion foul that negated a touchdown)?

Craig Wrolstad: “There were a lot of moving parts on that play. We had a quarterback go up to the line of scrimmage. He paused momentarily in the quarterback position, didn’t get under center, but he walked up and stopped like he was the quarterback. Then, he went in motion, and they threw the ball to him for a touchdown. If the quarterback assumes the quarterback position and then goes in motion, he has to then stop for a second before they snap the ball. Because he gets out of the view of some of the officials, we had to piece it together as a crew as to whether he stopped initially and then whether he stopped when he went in motion. It was determined after a lengthy discussion that he stopped at the quarterback position and then went in motion. But when he does that, he has to stop when he goes in motion.

Q: So, if he had come to a complete stop after going in motion, it would have been a legal play?

Wrolstad: That’s correct.

Q: My understanding is that there was a minute and 14 seconds from the time the play ended until when you dropped the flag for the penalty. Can you walk me through what the discussion process was between you and the crew in making that decision?

Wrolstad: It’s my job to see if the quarterback stopped initially. The down judge watches the player in motion, and we had to communicate between him, my umpire, and my line judge whether or not he initially stopped at the quarterback position and then whether he stopped after he went in motion out of my view toward the left-hand side of the field. There was a little bit of confusion in our discussion whether he had stopped initially or whether he had stopped at the end and what we were talking about. That’s why the flag came in so late.

Q: What kind of help or assistance, if any, did you have from the replay [official] in Kansas City or from New York?

Wrolstad: We did not have any assistance from Kansas City or New York.

Q: So that was just a discussion amongst the crew itself?

Wrolstad: That’s right.

Q: Would the ruling on the play have been different if Jared Goff had been in a shotgun formation?

Wrolstad: Yes. If he doesn’t assume a T-quarterback position, then he would not have had to stop. He would have had to stop originally in the shotgun formation for a second. Everybody would have had to be set for a second. But then if he goes in motion, he would not have to stop. This only applies to a quarterback who has assumed a position as a T-quarterback.

This post was updated to add the postgame pool report.