Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said he takes full accountability for the costly penalty that erased a touchdown on a creative trick play.

The Detroit Lions squared off with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night in a primetime showdown. Kansas City prevailed 30–17, improving to .500, while the Lions slipped to 4–2, suffering their first loss since Week 1 against Green Bay. Known for his fearless coaching style, Dan Campbell once again showed his willingness to take risks — but this time, one of those gambles backfired in a major way.

During the game, Detroit appeared to score on a clever play when running back David Montgomery threw a touchdown pass to quarterback Jared Goff. However, the celebration was short-lived, as officials nullified the play because of an illegal motion penalty. Campbell admitted he didn’t want to rehash the sequence because it frustrated him deeply, but he still assumed full responsibility for what went wrong.

“I don’t even want to talk about it,” Campbell said. “I really don’t. It’s a sore subject. I told the team I take full responsibility for that one. I do. The players executed exactly what we asked them to. Goff did what we told him, David did, too. That’s on me. You’ve got to be clear about alignment and I failed to do that. I told them that’s my responsibility.”

On the play, Goff initially lined up under center, then motioned toward the left sideline before a direct snap to Montgomery. Montgomery lofted the ball back to Goff, who made the catch for what seemed to be a touchdown. But a flag came out because NFL rules require that any player who begins a play under center must stop and reset before the snap if they go into motion. Despite the explanation, fans were furious over the decision.