Green Bay Packers All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney didn’t mince words when describing the officiating after Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the Detroit Lions.
“I don’t know how the NFL’s going to treat it, but I’m not a big fan of the refs right now,” McKinney said. “I don’t think it’s great officiating, if I’m being completely honest. I think it’s bulls– a lot of the times.”
McKinney took issue with a pair of roughing the passer penalties, as well as an unnecessary roughness call on defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt for what was deemed as a late hit on wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. That play gave the Lions a first down and they scored a touchdown two plays later.
“It’s annoying even talking about it because these are critical drives throughout the game, and we might have a drive where we’re getting stops but you’re calling penalties and it’s like, this is not a penalty,” McKinney said. “To me, it just (doesn’t) really make any sense, and it’s killing our momentum, it’s killing our drives, and it’s kind of f–ing up the games, if I’m being honest.”
McKinney, 28, said he wasn’t concerned if the NFL takes issue with his comments and levies a fine.
“They gonna fine you for anything at this point in this league, so I would rather get fined and try to help my team out because I see what is going on and I see it’s killing us,” he said. “We all see it. We all see what’s going on. Everyone sees what’s going on, the fans see what’s going on, we see what’s going on when we’re out there.”
Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur opted to take the high road after the game when asked about the officiating.
“I don’t even want to comment on any of the penalties,” LaFleur said. “It is what it is. You’ve got to play above it. I thought there were some tough calls, but it is what it is.”
The Packers (4-3) saw their three-game winning streak come to an end on Sunday. They’ll have a short turnaround with Thursday’s game against the visiting Carolina Panthers (3-3) on tap.
McKinney recorded a season-high 10 tackles on Sunday. He shares the NFL lead with three interceptions to go with 31 tackles and one sack in seven starts this season.