A drone stopped the Packers-Panthers game at Lambeau Field on Thursday night
Play stopped briefly in the third quarter of Thursday Night Football on October 29 after a drone was seen over Lambeau Field. The game resumed within minutes. Unless the flight was authorized, it broke the FAA's standing ban on drones near NFL games.
By Joel Kelly
Decision brief
If you fly, leave the drone at home on game day. The FAA bans drones within 3 nautical miles of an NFL stadium from one hour before the game until one hour after. It says violators can face fines of up to $100,000, lose the drone, and face federal criminal charges. Check the FAA's game map or B4UFLY before you fly anywhere near a stadium. No one has said yet who flew this one.
- When
- Oct. 29, 2026, 3rd quarter
- Stoppage
- A few minutes
- FAA rule
- 3 nautical miles
Panthers at Packers, Thursday Night Football on Prime Video
Reporters' posts at 9:11 and 9:14 p.m. CDT
No drones from one hour before to one hour after NFL games
What happened
A drone over Lambeau sent the game into a timeout.
Play stopped in the third quarter of the Carolina Panthers' game at the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, October 29, after a drone was seen over Lambeau Field. The game aired on Prime Video as Thursday Night Football. Matt Schneidman, who covers the Packers for The Athletic, posted from the stadium at 9:11 p.m. Central, asking whether a drone overhead was why play had stopped. Two minutes later, Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com called it a drone timeout.
The restart
Play resumed, and the Packers scored.
The stop was short. At 9:14 p.m., Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported that Josh Jacobs had caught a 4-yard touchdown pass on third-and-1. As of 9:21 p.m., the Packers, the NFL, and local police had not said who flew the drone, how it was found, or whether anyone was detained. We will update this story when they do.
The rule
Every NFL game is a no-drone zone.
Unless it was authorized, the flight broke a standing FAA restriction. The FAA bans drones within 3 nautical miles of a stadium during regular and postseason NFL games, from one hour before the scheduled start until one hour after. The same rule covers Major League Baseball, NCAA Division I football, and major motor racing. In an October 3 post, the FAA said pilots who enter that airspace without permission can face fines of up to $100,000, confiscation of the drone, and federal criminal charges.
The FAA lists every covered game on its Sporting Event Automated Monitoring System map. It says the leagues send live updates for delays and overtime, so the map shows when each restriction is active. Ground radar that spots drones at stadiums is also on the FCC's agenda: its November 19 vote would let those radars use the 24 GHz band without a waiver.
Source file
Verify the reporting
- FAA: Stadiums and Sporting Events (standing 3 nautical mile restriction)
- FAA on X: All NFL games are a strict No Drone Zone (October 3, 2026)
- Matt Schneidman, The Athletic, on X (October 29, 2026, 9:11 p.m. CDT)
- Wes Hodkiewicz, Packers.com, on X (October 29, 2026, 9:13 p.m. CDT)
- Ryan Wood, Green Bay Press-Gazette, on X (October 29, 2026, 9:14 p.m. CDT)
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