It looked like the Packers sealed a win over the Vikings on Sunday afternoon when cornerback Jaire Alexander intercepted a Kirk Cousins pass with under two minutes to play, but a penalty wiped out the turnover.
Packers linebacker Clay Matthews was penalized for roughing Cousins on what looked to the naked eye like an innocuous hit in line with how the NFL is asking defensive players to contact quarterbacks. After the game, referee Tony Corrente said that Matthews lifted Cousins and drove him into the ground by way of explaining the flag.
Matthews took issue with the call and said that the emphasis on protecting quarterbacks is “out of control” and Cousins placed himself closer to Matthews’ read on what happened in his own postgame comments.
“I haven’t seen it,” Cousins said in Peter King’s Football Morning in America. “I’m sure it was probably a generous call, and two or three years ago, it probably doesn’t get flagged. 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.”
Both teams would get opportunities to win the game after Cousins led the Vikings to tie the game, but neither could push through and the game ended in a 29-29 tie.
