Lions' fantastic trick play is taken off the board because Jared Goff's illegal motion
The Detroit Lions still have their tricks. They just didn't follow all the rules.
The Lions ran a fun play on fourth-and-goal Sunday night to open the game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Quarterback Jared Goff lined up under center, then went in motion. It was a direct snap to running back David Montgomery, but he wasn't running. He turned and threw to Goff, who made a nice catch after initially bobbling it, and got in the end zone behind Amon-Ra St. Brown's block.
And then the fun ended. After discussing the play officials called the Lions for an illegal motion penalty. It was explained on the NBC broadcast that after Goff went under center, he had to take a step back and pause before going in motion. He didn't do that, and the penalty flag was thrown.
Jared Goff catches a touchdown pass from David Montgomery pic.twitter.com/fWK6zdMECz
- SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) October 13, 2025
Even worse, it appears the scenario that led to the Lions penalty was included in the officiating tape teams got this week.
Foul wasn't for the alignment, but rather for an under-center QB going in motion and not getting set. If you want to run a trick play, you have to cover all your bases. This exact scenario was on the officiating tape sent to teams this week https://t.co/CTkjjhRuLk
- F Zs (@footballzebras) October 13, 2025
It was a bummer because it was a fun play. The Lions are used to getting creative. Montgomery has two career touchdown passes, including one last week. Goff has one career touchdown catch, which he made last season. This time the Lions overlooked a detail and it cost them. It looked like the Lions would still go for it on fourth-and-goal after the illegal motion penalty, but they took a delay of game and then settled for the field goal.
The penalty wiped out a pretty cool play. The Lions will have plenty of other chances to top it. Running trick plays is part of their culture, and they seem to keep trying to top themselves.