“The Quarterback Never Got Set”: Chiefs vs. Lions Ref Craig Wolstad Explains Why He Denied Jared Goff’s TD

Almost nothing hurts as badly as seeing a touchdown being taken off the board. Unfortunately, that happened more than once in Week 6.

The first instance came during a string of questionable officiating in the New Orleans Saints’ matchup against the New England Patriots. There is a chance that football fans would have missed that one since the majority of the nation wasn’t tuned in for that game. The larger fandom would definitely have witnessed the touchdown omission in the Kansas City Chiefs’ prime-time showcase against the Detroit Lions.

About halfway through the opening quarter, Dan Campbell’s offense found itself in scoring position on Kansas City’s one-yard line, which prompted a tricky play call.

Jared Goff dropped back from behind center and went in motion to the left, leaving the team’s RB2, David Montgomery, free to throw a touchdown pass to his QB1. But there was a problem in the play.

Goff didn’t establish himself as a back prior to the ball being snapped. So the Lions had their touchdown taken away.

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 consensus among pundits covering the game was that it was an illegal formation. After a discussion between the officials, the play was officially ruled as an illegal motion. Referee Craig Wolstad explained the reason live on broadcast.

“After discussion… the quarterback never got set, therefore illegal motion,” said Wolstad, before waiving off the TD.

In the official rule book, it is written that “…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,” then it would result in a five-yard penalty. Since Goff did not come to a complete stop, the play was flagged for illegal motion. The Lions eventually settled for a field goal, giving them an early 3-0 lead.

Thankfully, since the Chiefs went on to win by 13 points, we won’t have to hear any murmurings of “robbery.” However, Detroit fell victim to a niche rule that is seldom mentioned, let alone challenged.

Of course, even though it’s clearly defined in the book, fans were still willing to cry foul after its enforcement benefited Kansas City.

A rule that most likely has never been enforced in the history of the NFL not only going in favor of the Chiefs but against Detroit is 😚👌🏼

— Connor Stalions Memorial Scholarship Fund 〽️ (@vacca23) October 13, 2025

Given the uniqueness of the play call, some argued that the play should have been allowed to stand. After all, Goff never officially placed his hands beneath the center. According to one fan, that’s enough to enforce the only rule that truly matters.

“The rule of cool says this should stand,” he commented on X. Although someone may want to check and make sure that he doesn’t have David Montgomery on his fantasy team.

The rule of cool says this should stand.

— Mike Karl (@TheHotKarl619) October 13, 2025

For better or worse, this SNF contest will go down in the record books as a 30-17 victory for Kansas City. After an abysmal start to the regular season, the Chiefs have managed to get themselves back to .500. They’ll now prepare to host a rather docile Las Vegas Raiders team that is currently averaging 19 points per game.

The Chiefs may not have gotten the emphatic start to the year that they hoped for following Super Bowl LIX, but they appear to be right on schedule.