When "Roughing the Passer" Has Gone Too Far

Photo by Adam Wesley (USA TODAY Network)

I almost wrote something about this last week in the wake of the Packers getting another game stolen from them by poor officiating. Then it happened again this week, and now I can't hold back anymore.

To be clear, I've long been of the opinion that in most cases, officiating doesn't decide the outcome of games... with some exceptions, of course. And I'm not blaming the officiating for Green Bay's embarrassing loss to the Redskins yesterday. But I am blaming them for their farcical sense of justice. So in case you haven't seen the league's latest nonsense, the two forthcoming tweets sum it up pretty well.

Just to review … this was a penalty ... ~ JW (1/2) pic.twitter.com/1RQ5c7z0kA

— Wilde And Tausch (@WildeAndTausch) September 23, 2018

... but this was not. ~ JW pic.twitter.com/ESLvOtQkhY

— Wilde And Tausch (@WildeAndTausch) September 23, 2018

Like the complete and utter crap penalty on Clay Matthews' hit on Kirk Cousins the week before, I didn't see it in real time. But I was pissed as soon as I saw it. The Alex Smith flag I get more than I do the Cousins one; the Alex Smith takedown involved Matthews landing on Smith, and per the NFL's asinine new rule, it's the correct call. But it is a horrific rule. Combine that with a play on Rodgers that absolutely should have drawn a flag... and it's clear the NFL has no idea what it's doing.

I didn't play organized football, but when defensive players, other quarterbacks, and even former heads of NFL officiating think you've screwed this up, then you have 100 percent screwed this up. The conspiracy theorist inside my head wants the Packers to sue the league for deliberately targeting them with their nonsense, but the rational person in my head knows that's stupid. But I'm dumbfounded at this point. Short of teams refusing to take the field until this gets fixed, I don't know this problem gets resolved.

We talk about how the NFL is supposedly declining and arguably dying and the various causes that go into it. Cord cutting, people boycotting due to anthem protests, and now this nonsense... I'll let Pro Football Weekly's Hub Arkush take it home.

If the NFL continues to pretend last 2 Roughing calls on Clay Matthews aren't complete B.S., I'm just not sure how much longer people will keep watching? League is becoming a total joke and it's truly sad to watch.

— Hub Arkush (@Hub_Arkush) September 23, 2018