LANDOVER, Md. − Clay Matthews is paid to make big plays and, so far this season, he's been doing just that. Problem is, the NFL referees keep taking them away.
It happened again Sunday when the Green Bay Packers outside linebacker sacked Washington quarterback Alex Smith in the third quarter with the Packers trying to rally from a brutal first-half performance.
As with a similar Matthews hit on Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins last week, out came the penalty flag for roughing the passer. And with the flag came another wave of outrage for the NFL and its referees, who seemingly are trying to legislate rushing the passer out of the game.