Clay Matthews wants the NFL to adopt college OT rules after Packers lose heartbreaker to Cardinals
The Packers have been eliminated from the playoffs without touching the ball in OT for two straight years.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Green Bay Packers completed one of the greatest playoff comebacks of all time Saturday night when Aaron Rodgers connected with Jeff Janis for a game-tying Hail Mary touchdown pass as time was expiring in regulation. But they never got the ball again, because the Arizona Cardinals scored on their first possession in overtime.
Linebacker Clay Matthews took issue with that, saying after the game he thinks it’s time for the NFL to change up its rules.
“Let’s go college rules. Just put us on the 25 or whatever it is and let us go at it,” Matthews said, via USA Today. “But I don’t know. I’m sure it’ll be talked about. It sucks that we don’t have an opportunity.”
Larry Fitzgerald’s 75-yard reception and 5-yard scamper into the end zone capped off a wild victory for the Cardinals, who defeated the Packers 26-20 in what will probably go down as one of the best playoff games ever played. For the second consecutive year, the Packers were eliminated from the postseason because their opponent scored a touchdown the first time they got the ball in OT.
Though Rodgers didn’t lobby for the league to alter its rules, he appeared to hint at his frustration about the format after the game as well.
Rodgers: It's tough. We've lost a few of these over the years where you don't touch the ball in OT. #GBvsAZ
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) January 17, 2016 The NFL tweaked its overtime rules slightly after the 2012 campaign, eliminating the strict sudden death format in favor of a system in which both teams would get the ball at least once if a touchdown isn’t scored on the first possession. But Matthews wants the league to adopt the college format, in which each team starts from their opponent’s 25-yard line until they can no longer match scores.
Last season, the Seahawks bested the Packers after they scored a touchdown on their first drive in overtime. Much like Saturday, Aaron Rodgers didn't get an opportunity to take the field.
Matthews' comments may come off as a loser's lament, but considering how thrilling the back-and-forth game had been, it is disappointing the Packers didn't get another chance to tie up the game Saturday night. It was surely what the millions of people watching -- save for Cardinals fans -- would've liked to see happen.
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SB Nation presents: Green Bay’s luck ends after failing to cover Larry Fitzgerald in OT
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