Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur might be thankful for the refs in the first half of his team’s Thanksgiving Day showdown with the Detroit Lions.
That’s because LaFleur and the Packers appeared to get a break when he was awarded a timeout that appeared to be quite generous by the officiating crew late in the first half.
And it came at a critical point with the Packers on the doorstep of scoring.
Green Bay faced a 4th and 2 from its 3-yard line. The Packers were set to go for it but a false start by Anthony Belton was going to back it up 5 yards. However, the refs granted LaFleur a timeout and the penalty was waived off.
The Fox broadcast captured LaFleur initiating the timeout but it clearly came after the false start. Fox reporter Tom Rinaldi later reported that LaFleur was screaming at the ref prior for a timeout but the call wasn’t given until the coach’s signal.
The ball remained at the 3-yard line and scored on the next play when Jordan Love found Romeo Doubs for a touchdown to give Green Bay a 17-7 lead.
The Lions, however, would come back to get their second TD to close the gap right before the half at 17-14.
Stream the Packers-Lions on Fubo
Packers head coach awarded timeout
Here’s when Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was awarded a timeout on a 4th and 2 at the 3-yard line.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Did the Packers get a break when coach Matt LaFleur was awarded timeout before touchdown vs Lions?
Reporting by Christopher Kuhagen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
