Lions illegal motion, explained: Why refs took away Jared Goff opening drive receiving TD vs. Chiefs

With Dan Campbell on the headset, there was little doubt the Detroit Lions would go for a game-opening 4th & Goal on the road from the one-yard line. How that attempt played out, however, was a bizarre start to "Sunday Night Football" in Week 6.

The Lions, facing the Kansas City Chiefs in the prime time matchup, got down to the one-yard line on their opening drive.

However, following a trick play that saw Jared Goff catch a touchdown pass, the officials came together afterward and ruled there was illegal motion on the play. The Lions eventually fell 30-17 to the Chiefs.

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Here's how the Lions' first drive on "SNF" went from a trickery-filled touchdown to a field goal due to a unique illegal motion call.

MORE: Results, highlights from Chiefs vs. Lions

Lions illegal motion on Jared Goff TD, explained

Detroit got off to a strong offensive start, with Jahmyr Gibbs totaling 32 rushing yards on the opening drive as Jameson Williams caught a pair of passes. Gibbs failed to punch the ball past the goal line on three-straight attempts though, setting up 4th & Goal from the one.

After taking a timeout, Campbell called for a trick play -- running back David Montgomery, a high school quarterback, took the snap. He threw to his left, where Goff bobbled the pass, then secured it and followed a blocker into the end zone.

For a moment, the Lions appeared to take a 6-0 lead on a nice play. Until the officials came together, ruling to nullify the play after it was over.

Jared Goff catches a touchdown pass from David Montgomery 🤯 pic.twitter.com/fWK6zdMECz

— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) October 13, 2025

Goff was called for illegal motion upon the officials' conversations. Because he was under center, he had to stop and establish himself as a receiver, which he did not do. Had Goff paused for a moment to establish himself, instead of staying in motion, the play would have been fine.

"After discussion, the quarterback never got set, therefore it is illegal motion," referee Craig Wrolstrad said. 

Despite this looking really cool, Terry McAulay explains why Jared Goff was lined up illegally and why this touchdown was taken off the board. pic.twitter.com/fXZ2I5xBFT

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 13, 2025

The Lions wound up kicking a field goal after the penalty, taking a 3-0 lead instead of the potential 7-0 lead. And on the following drive, the Chiefs answered with an Xavier Worthy touchdown.

Postgame, Goff told reporters that he and other coaches had never heard of the rule that nullified his touchdown catch.

"I've never heard this: because of how close I was to the center, that declares I'm the quarterback," Goff said, per Nolan Bianchi. "If that is the rule, I guess we need to do a little more research."

The pool report from Sunday night's game also gave the officials an opportunity to explain their call on the Goff touchdown. Wrolstrad told reporter Matt Derrick, per Ian Rapoport, that "Iif the quarterback assumes the quarterback position and then goes in motion, he has to then stop for a second before they snap the ball," which Goff did not do.

"There were a lot of moving parts on that play. We had a quarterback go up to the line of scrimmage. He paused momentarily in the quarterback position, didn’t get under center, but he walked up and stopped like he was the quarterback. Then, he went in motion, and they threw the ball to him for a touchdown," Wrolstrad said, per Rapoport. "Because he gets out of the view of some of the officials, we had to piece it together as a crew as to whether he stopped initially and then whether he stopped when he went in motion.

It was determined after a lengthy discussion that he stopped at the quarterback position and then went in motion. But when he does that, he has to stop when he goes in motion."

As for the delay on the call, Wrolstrad also said the flag came so late because the various officials had to communicate about whether or not Goff paused, adding "there was a little bit of confusion in our discussion whether he had stopped initially." Wrolstrad also reportedly said there was no replay assistance from Kansas City or New York on the call.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 13, 2025

Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that he was told that the penalty call came from New York, while Wrolstad said in the pool report after the game that the call was made after communication, and New York wasn't involved.

MORE: Lions-Chiefs ends in postgame scuffle between Brian Branch, Juju Smith-Schuster

What is illegal motion?

Here is how the NFL defines its illegal motion rules:

"When the ball is snapped, one player who is lined up in the backfield may be in motion, provided that he is moving parallel to or away from the line of scrimmage. No player is permitted to be moving toward the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped. All other players must be stationary in their positions.

If an eligible receiver who is on the line moves to another position on the line (not forward), he must come to a complete stop prior to the snap. If he does not come to a complete stop, it is Illegal Motion.

It is also illegal motion if a T-Formation Quarterback goes in motion and fails to come to a complete stop for at least one full second prior to the snap."