The NFL isn’t trying to hide its goal to better protect quarterbacks, but many football fans feel the league is being downright unfair to defenders in the process.
Arguably no player has felt the wrath of extended quarterback safety this season more than Clay Matthews. The Packers linebacker was flagged for a questionable roughing-the-passer penalty on Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins in Week 2, which ended up being a pivotal call in the Green Bay-Minnesota tie.
Well, Matthews was left feeling helpless again Sunday afternoon when he was penalized for roughing the passer, this time on an equally controversial sequence involving Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith.
Mike McCarthy went ballistic after the referees launched their yellow flags, but the Packers coach hardly was the only person that disagreed with the call. McCarthy was joined by countless Twitter users, who voiced their opinion as the play went down.
Protecting the quarterback obviously is important, but you also need to allow football players to play football. Reckless plays should not be tolerated, but Matthews’ sack on Smith looked clean to us.
