Controversy surrounding a roughing the passer call in Thursday night’s game between the Seahawks and the 49ers once again led to calls on social media for the league to address the application of the penalty.
Earlier in the week, NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent told reporters that one of the topics discussed at an owners meeting Wednesday morning was a video review process for hitting the quarterback and defenseless players. Though such a dramatic rule change will likely receive some push back, the league has already found a willing participant to lead the charge should it choose to move forward with some sort of review process: former Packers star linebacker Clay Matthews III.
Matthews, a six-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, took to Twitter during the Thursday Night Football matchup to offer up his services, vowing that he’d be flawless if given the role.
“I’d like to be employed by the NFL as THE replay official for all roughing the passer penalties,” Matthews wrote on Twitter. “Put me in NY. I wouldn’t get a call wrong!”
The roughing the passer debate has come up now and again throughout the 2022 season as a number of controversial calls have taken center stage during nationally televised games. However, Vincent said that roughing the passer calls are down by 62% from last year. Going into Week 15, there have been just 76 roughing the passer calls compared to the 121 called by this time last season, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
“The officials have been very consistent and accurate, but they are human,” Vincent said, per Rapoport.
He went onto say there will be a “healthy discussion” about making such fouls reviewable and whether they can be challenged. Any of the changes being discussed would still have to go through the usual process for a rule change and would not be voted on until the March owners meeting.
