Dan Campbell doubles down that call on Jared Goff play came from N.Y.; Alim McNeill set to debut
This is the story that just won’t die.
Despite referee Craig Wrolstad saying otherwise, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell doubled down on Wednesday that the on-field officials in Sunday night’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs told him the decision to throw a penalty flag on Jared Goff’s would-be go-ahead touchdown to open the game came from the league office in New York.
The Lions appeared to have taken a 6-0 lead with 5:24 remaining in the first quarter when Goff caught a touchdown pass from running back David Montgomery. After gathering for more than a full minute, officials dropped a penalty flag for an illegal motion on Goff.
Campbell said after the game that he was told the call came from New York. Moments later, Wrolstad told a pool reporter, Matt Derrick, that the crew “did not have any assistance from Kansas City or New York.” Doing so would have violated the league’s replay-assistance procedures, since illegal motion is not a reviewable penalty.
“Yes,” said Campbell, asked to confirm by hosts of the “Costa & Jansen with Heather Show” on 97.1 The Ticket that the call came from New York. He said, “Yeah,” when asked to confirm that an official had told him that.
“We asked all of that. We asked all of that, and I can’t tell you any of that,” Campbell said when asked if he’d inquired why the official told him the call came from New York, only to deny it after the game.
While officials ultimately made the right call — after shifting from the quarterback position, Goff did not set for a full second before going in motion — the possibility that they arrived at it in an improper way is something that should rightfully upset the Lions.
McNeill set to return
On Tuesday, Campbell was still a bit non-committal about the status of defensive tackle Alim McNeill for Monday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On Wednesday, he told Costa & Jansen that he expects McNeill to make his season debut on “Monday Night Football” at Ford Field.
“Barring something happening this week, Alim’s freakin’ playing, man,” Campbell said.
McNeill hasn’t played since tearing his ACL against the Buffalo Bills in Week 15 of last season. He’s developed into one of Detroit’s best pass rushers and run stoppers. He registered 45 pressures and 3 1/2 sacks last season.
“Everybody loves Mac, man, and they know what kind of teammates he is, but what kind production he can bring to us in the run and pass game,” Campbell said. “He’s the type of guy who elevates the guys around him. He’ll elevate their level of play or their production, just being out there, because he’s gonna draw a little bit of attention, or they’re gonna have to.
“Listen, this is his first game back, he’ll have to shake off a couple of cobwebs, but after what I’ve seen the last two weeks, it won’t take long. It’s good to have him back, man, he’s certainly one of our pieces, he’s a pivotal piece of what we do, and he’s gonna help us.”
As for whether McNeill will be on a pitch count, Campbell said, “We’ll take it as it comes.”
“He’s gotten more reps over the last two weeks, and he’s gonna get more reps in practice this week too,” Campbell said.
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