Did NFL Official Lie When Giving Pool Report After Lions Game?

Dan Campbell contradicts what NFL official reported after Lions loss to Chiefs.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell speaks to reporters before joint practice in New York | John Maakaron, @Lions On SI

Something is very, very fishy about the way NFL officials handled the penalty called on Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

Appearing on his weekly radio interview on 97.1 The Ticket, Dan Campbell again reiterated he was told directly by an official the call came from New York.

A significant issue then emerges, as the play is not a reviewable play. Officials are not permitted to receive assistance on a play like that.

Official Craig Wrolstad was asked directly what kind of assistance the crew received after the play.

Recall, no penalty was thrown until at least 90 seconds after Goff found his way into the end zone. "We did not have any assistance from Kansas City or New York," Wrolstad explained.

The Lions sent in the footage from the call, but Campbell could not reveal publicly what the organization heard back.

The official was asked about the discussion period after Goff went into motion and received a touchdown toss from running back David Montgomery.

"It's my job to see if the quarterback stopped initially," Wrolstad explained. "The down judge watches the player in motoion, and we had to communicate between him, my umpire, and my line judge whethor 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."

Rule 7, Section 4, Article 2, Item 3 indicates, "It is legal for a T-Formation Quarterback to go in motion, whether he has placed his hands under center, on his knees, or on the body of the center. However, it is a false start if the action is quick and abrupt. If the player fails to come to a complete stop for at least one full second prior to the ball being snapped, it is illegal motion."

The issue appears to be that outside assistance influenced the decision to throw a flag, which is not permissible.

Campbell has now expressed twice publicly he was told that New York dialed in to give the officials direction as to how to proceed.

At the very least, the pool report appears to be fraudulent, as Campbell gains to benefit nothing from lying about what an official told him.

Pool report on the Jared Goff TD penalty pic.twitter.com/DKrJX2yHCR

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) October 13, 2025