Former Detroit Lions offensive lineman T.J. Lang just confirmed what many fans have suspected for years, the Green Bay Packers got the benefit of the doubt from NFL referees.
Appearing on 97.1 The Ticket (quotes via Lions OnSI), Lang said he noticed a major difference in how games were called after leaving Green Bay for Detroit in 2017.
T.J. Lang proud of Frank Ragnow decision T.J. Lang Packers preferential treatment
“No, and I still don’t,” Lang said when asked if he believed in the idea of “scriptwriters” in the NFL. “But I’ll tell you this right now, when I was in Green Bay for eight years, I don’t want to make headlines here, I felt like and a lot of guys on the team felt like, not maybe in the moment, but when you look back, that yes, we did get some benefits of doubt for some calls.”
Lang referenced the infamous Dez Bryant non-catch call that helped the Packers in the playoffs years ago, saying it reinforced the idea that premier NFL franchises get more favorable treatment.
“We kind of felt like we were getting the benefit of the doubt because we were a good team,” he added. “I’ll tell you one thing though, we were nice to the refs.”
Inside the Packers’ “Ref Relationship” Strategy
Lang gave a fascinating peek behind the curtain into how Packers head coach Mike McCarthy approached referees, not through intimidation, but relationship-building.
“Mike McCarthy was a great coach,” Lang said. “We used to come in on Wednesdays and he would put up the list of the referees that were there reffing the game. ‘This guy does this and this is his profession. He’s got kids and he’s got grandkids.’ So there’d be TV timeouts where you go talk to those guys and try to butter them up a little bit.”
It worked. Lang admitted that during his eight seasons with the Packers, he was called for holding only once in his final four years.
“It helped because I’m not kidding you,” Lang explained. “I would go talk to the back judge and he would be like, ‘Hey, you kind of held him a little bit. Next time I’m probably gonna have to throw it.’ I’d be like, ‘Oh, thanks Jeff. Yeah I know, I kind of held him a little bit.’ I think I had one holding called my last four years in Green Bay.”
Reality Check in Detroit
That all changed when Lang signed with his hometown Detroit Lions in 2017. Suddenly, those “friendly” refs weren’t so forgiving.
“Then in Detroit, it was like three holding calls, and people were like, ‘What’s going on?’” Lang said. “I’m like, ‘Listen, I’m doing the same thing I’ve done my entire career. I’m not trying to create a conspiracy here, but I’ve been blocking this way for five years now and it’s now being called against me now.’”
Lang made it clear he doesn’t believe referees intentionally target the Lions, but he didn’t hold back about the pattern he’s observed since retiring.
“You don’t want to buy into that,” he said. “They’re not out to get you. They might duck the flag a little bit, if it’s a close play, and might say, ‘Ah okay, it’s got to be really egregious for us to throw one.’ But yeah, I would say that being retired now for what, six years, you watch some games and you’re like, ‘That’s weird.’ Why does it keep benefiting one team and nobody else is getting these calls?”
The Bottom Line
T.J. Lang isn’t accusing the NFL of scripting outcomes, but he’s confirming something that Detroit fans have been shouting for decades: the calls don’t always go both ways.
His honesty about the “preferential treatment” Green Bay received and the difference he noticed in Detroit speaks volumes. Whether it’s conscious bias or subconscious influence, Lang’s experience offers a rare insider glimpse into how reputation and relationships can sway officiating, something Dan Campbell’s Lions have had to overcome time and again.