Sports · American Football · 46 mins ago
Micah Parsons and Tom Brady criticize roughing call on Brenton Cox Jr
A roughing-the-passer call was made against Packers defender Brenton Cox Jr. on Sunday evening.
The call drew dismay across the football world, with some viewing it as unjustified.
Micah Parsons and Tom Brady both criticized the referees over the decision.
They suggested football should switch to flag football, as reflected in their remarks.
The call concerned the roughing-the-passer penalty, but no further details about the play were given.
No next steps or further action were reported.
Micah Parsons and Tom Brady criticized roughing-the-passer penalties involving Green Bay Packers defenders during the Lions-Packers game.
Brenton Cox Jr was flagged for roughing the passer, which Sporting News described as a phantom call.
Brady also challenged a roughing call against Packers defensive tackle Karl Brooks and an unnecessary-roughness call against Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes.
The Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers 20-17, with a game-winning field goal as time expired.
Parsons called for the NFL to adopt flag football if routine quarterback contact is penalized as roughing.
- Who
- Packers defenders Brenton Cox Jr and Karl Brooks were penalized. Micah Parsons and Tom Brady criticized the calls.
- What
- Roughing-the-passer penalties drew criticism as questionable.
- When
- Sunday evening; the articles were published on October 26, 2026.
- Where
- Detroit, during the Lions-Packers game.
- Why
- Parsons and Brady objected to what they viewed as questionable penalties for contact with the quarterback.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Officials penalized Packers defenders Brenton Cox Jr and Karl Brooks for roughing the passer during the Lions-Packers game.
A roughing call against Karl Brooks helped move Detroit across midfield before the Lions' game-winning field goal as time expired.
Micah Parsons criticized the officiating crew in a post on X.
- Final score
- Lions 20, Packers 17
- Brenton Cox Jr
- Packers defender penalized for roughing the passer
- Karl Brooks
- Packers defensive tackle penalized for roughing the passer
- Game-winning score
- Detroit field goal as time expired
- Micah Parsons
- Called for flag football if quarterback contact is repeatedly penalized as roughing
3 sources
What people are saying
[Let's] just go to flag football if everytime (sic) a qb gets touched it's roughing the passer!
What is that?!
That's definitely not roughing the passer!
That's not roughing the passer.
Posts on X
Tom Brady: "No, my goodness. What is that?! There's no way!... That's definitely not roughing the passer!" Fox rules analyst Dean Blandino: "That's teach-tape tackle. That's not roughing the passer." 🏈🦓🎙️