Detroit Lions draw controversial, flag-happy officiating crew

Detroit Lions fans will recognize the name Carl Cheffers in an instant. If you’re one of the few who don’t hold onto decade-old scars, Cheffers was the lead referee during Detroit’s controversial loss to the Green Bay Packers in 2015. Aaron Rodgers completed a Hail Mary at the end of the game, after Cheffers’ crew awarded the Packers an untimed down following a face mask penalty that replays showed never actually happened.

Cheffers’ crew will officiate the Lions’ Week 5 contest against the Cincinnati Bengals.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Cheffers’ officiating crew has also been extremely flat-happy this year. In three games, they are averaging 18.67 (!!!) penalties per game, which is by far the most of any officiating crew this year (stats per NFLPenalties.com). This is far more than his annual average, as he actually averaged the lowest flags per game (10.3) last year.

The last time Cheffers officiated a Lions game was Week 8 against the Tennessee Titans last year. They only threw a total of 11 flags in that game, with the Lions being on the receiving end of just three.

The good news is that the Lions have played some relatively penalty-free football so far in 2025. They have only had 171 penalty yards against through four games, which is the fourth-fewest of any NFL team thus far. Interestingly enough, the Bengals are right behind the Lions with 172 penalty yards against.

So will Cheffers and his crew settle down a little bit this week, or are the Lions and Bengals about to see a ton of flags come their way? Let’s hope for a clean day in Cincinnati for all of our sanity’s sake.