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NFL Admits Wrong Call in Detroit Lions Opener

Jalen Hurts intentionally grounded the football, and should have been called for a penalty.

John Maakaron

In this story:

The Detroit Lions turned in the play of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts not being called for intentional grounding. 

Lions head coach Dan Campbell was asked about the controversial call in a tie game. 

With the Eagles driving in the red zone in a 7-7 game, the officials concluded there was a receiver near Hurts, and thus, did not make the call of intentional grounding. 

After further review from the league office, the officials' decision was deemed wrong, as the Eagles should have been penalized on the play. 

Over the years, supporters of the Lions have been quite frustrated with officiating, as calls that seem relatively easy to make oftentimes end up going against the Lions. 

Difficulty stopping quarterback Jalen Hurts

Campbell noted on Monday how Lions' defenders must trust their assignments and avoid going "rogue" when a play develops. 

"Literally just the trust and just hone in on your assignment," said Campbell. "Look, it was really what we did a hell of a job of last year against Lamar (Jackson) when Baltimore came in. Man, we were on it. We were on every little detail to it, but we had also gotten beat. We lost the week before, it was a point of focus, man, those guys were -- and not to say we weren’t locked in, but I just think this gets you refocused, man. We’ve got one under our belt. This is a different style of offense that you just faced, and I think there again, I just think we’re going to learn from this and be better."

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John Maakaron
JOHN MAAKARON

John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland  Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!

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