During the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers' 29-29 tie on Sunday afternoon, there was plenty of controversy surrounding the roughing the passer call on linebacker Clay Matthews. The call gave the Vikings another chance that allowed them to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
Matthews has already voiced his dismay with the entire situation, believing he did everything in his power to avoid receiving a penalty on the play. Hall of Famer Brett Favre has now chimed in, stating Matthews made a “textbook hit” that he believes wasn't late, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.
Brett Favre on his SiriusXM NFL radio show: “I saw a textbook hit. It wasn't late. I saw nothing that, you know, and Clay's [Matthews] had a history of those type of plays. This one was textbook and if you're going to use it as a teaching video, you teach that this is the way we expect you to tackle, and that's the way I saw it. And that's neither being a Clay Matthews or Packer fan, or a Minnesota Viking fan or hater, you know, that was a bad call. And to me, why not be able to review that?”
On the play, Kirk Cousins let go of the pass a second before Matthews came in for the hit, taking the Vikings signal-caller down without driving him into the ground or with any ill intent. Matthews operated in a manner he believes was best to avoid hurting Cousins.
#Packers LB Clay Matthews appeared to catch himself with his left arm while taking down #Vikings QB Kirk Cousins on this play, but was still called for roughing the passer pic.twitter.com/5u4nYcQg7G
— Kevin Boilard (@KevinBoilard) September 16, 2018
However, the referees saw it in a different light, citing Matthews lifting up Cousins' legs and driving him into the ground. The call allowed the Vikings to keep their drive alive, eventually scoring a touchdown and two-point conversation that tied the game up late in the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, Matthews can only try to learn from the play and put himself in a different spot next time if a similar situation arises.
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