The Green Bay Packers are leading late in the game. The Minnesota Vikings have the ball and look to tie the game. Clay Matthews forces his way through the offensive line and hits the Quarterback after he released the ball. The ball is intercepted, and it seems the Packers have sealed the victory. But wait! There is a flag? Clay Matthews is penalized for roughing the passer and the play is erased. The Vikings drive the ball down and tie the game. The game ends in a tie. People review the hit from Clay Matthews and millions are upset. A penalty that should never have been called, made the game end in a tie. This type of hit was weak. Any other year, and there would be no call. But the NFL is becoming weak. There is such a push for safety, that they are ruining the game. It's great they are trying to protect players, but the lack of consistency and the types of mistakes that will cause a team to miss a win is concerning. The NFL is becoming too soft.
Of course, I am biased because I am a Packers fan, but every fan can agree, that call was bullshit. It was quite obvious that Clay Matthews did not hit him too late, and he even tried to lift his body off the ground to lower the impact to the quarterback. This mistake from the refs cost the Packers a win. It will mean something come playoff time, and mistakes like this are horrific for the league. There were dozens of hits like that against Aaron Rodgers that are never called. For this penalty to come at such a crucial time is sickening. Just thinking about this call makes me ill.
Clay was called in week 1 for roughing the passer. It could have gone 50/50 so I moved on. Week 2 comes along and we see this garbage. I become stunned and wonder what the NFL had become. But it gets worse. Week 3 comes along and Clay Matthews is called for the same penalty again. When I watched it in real time I laughed. My eyes could seriously not believe that the same call was made in three straight games, to the same player. Clay sacked the quarterback and apparently landed on the QB too hard. I was in such a fit of rage I had to laugh. We ended up losing the third game. We lost for many reasons, but this was the main one. The Packers are 1-1-1 and we have to partially blame the league.
The lack of consistency around the league has caused players to be afraid to hit. Nobody wants a 15-yard penalty, so players don't go as hard. With this, comes weaker defenses. This then causes good teams to lose because of weak rules. Take for instance the Dolphins defensive end William Hayes. This man sacked the Raiders quarterback, and while sacking him, tried to lessen the impact, which caused him to tear his ACL. This man needs surgery, misses the entire year, and can't do what he loves because he was afraid of hitting the quarterback too hard. This is the NFL. There will be hard hits. You have to accept it, and if you can't then stop playing football.
Players are getting hurt, losing football games, and breaking the hearts of millions of fans all because of shitty NFL rules. Things need to change. If the NFL continues its ways, viewership will drop more than it already is. The league needs to become consistent. Either every hit is unacceptable, or every hit is acceptable. Stop picking and choosing and be consistent.
