NFL commissioner Roger Goodell praised the league's much-criticized officiating during a scheduled question-and-answer session with NBC's Mike Tirico while promoting the 2024 NFL Draft, which will be held April 25-27 in Detroit .
What makes his praise even more faltering is the fact that this conversation took place on Wednesday… in Detroit.
Via the Detroit News, Tirico brought up the officiating issue in a roundabout way, saying, “Analysts aren't perfect, coaches aren't perfect, our quarterbacks aren't perfect.” They throw incompletions. Running backs miss the hole, but we ask the refs to make them perfect.”
Goodell added: “They make decisions in seconds out there.”
Of course, the wounds are still fresh for the Lions and the officiating when it comes to the controversy surrounding receiver Taylor Decker in the team's Week 17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Add another call that drew the ire of Lions fans by involving Decker in the team's NFC wild-card win over the Los Angeles Rams, where officials marked the tackle as a false start instead of Ernest Jones by the Rams for a neutral zone violation.
GO DEEPER
NFL defends call at center of Lions-Cowboys controversy via video
The Lions host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC divisional playoff round on Sunday.
Goodell didn't mention the chaos in Week 17, but he alluded to offside penalties.
“And you know, there's two teams out there, so… is he offside or not offside?” Goodell said. “It’s just part of their job. They are the hardest working people I see. They are very proud of it. There are individuals working to make sure they contribute to the game, but we also have the technology to try to do that.
“I’m very proud of what they’re doing.”
Required reading
(Photo: Nick Cammett / Diamond Images via Getty Images)