Fun fact: Daniel Carlson would’ve missed just one field goal in Sunday’s tie between the Vikings and Packers had the officials not flagged linebacker Clay Matthews for roughing the passer late in the fourth quarter.
Matthews dumped quarterback Kirk Cousins on a pass that was intercepted by the Packers. Had the flag not been thrown, the Packers would’ve taken a couple of knees and won the game 29-21. But the flag gave the Vikings life and Cousins wound up hitting Adam Thielen for an incredible touchdown with 31 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Interestingly, referee Tony Corrente made the call and later explained to ESPN that Matthews’ flag didn’t fall under the new rule that keeps players from driving quarterbacks into the ground with their full body weight. Instead, Corrente through the flag because Matthews picked Cousins up and drove him into the ground.
But even Cousins said the call was a bit “generous.”
“I haven’t seen it. I’m sure it was probably a generous call, and two or three years ago, it probably doesn’t get flagged,” Cousins said in Peter King’s Football Morning in America. “But that’s one of those plays the Packers felt made a huge difference in the game, and there are some we felt made a huge difference in the game. Both sides can point to several plays I’m sure.”
Watching the replay back, one might argue that Cousins left the ground with both feet when he let the pass fly, making it look like Matthews picked him up off the ground.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42AnEdMaW7s
Regardless, pretty much everyone on the planet agrees that it was a questionable call, and likely the difference between the Vikings leaving Lambeau with a tie rather than a loss.
