Clay Matthews has a strange streak going, one that he hopes to break Sunday.
The Green Bay linebacker has been flagged for roughing the passer in each of the Packers' three games, and two of those penalties appeared to be normal tackles.
Officials are eagle-eyeing quarterback hits this season, and particularly ones in which the tackler uses his full body weight to drive quarterbacks into the ground. There have been 34 roughing-the-passer penalties this season, more than double the total called through three weeks last year (16).
"It's ridiculous," Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett told reporters last week. "I feel bad for Clay Matthews. He just can't win at this point right now. I mean, I'm going to take them down how I have to."
It isn't only Matthews. All over the league, players are drawing those flags. Miami defensive end William Hayes suffered a season-ending knee injury last week when trying a pull up on a hit to Oakland quarterback Derek Carr.
Fellow Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake said the league should acknowledge that, when it comes to caring about injuries, all things are not equal.
"Just tell me, 'Listen, we're going to protect quarterbacks differently,'" Wake told reporters. "Just be blunt about it. Not, 'We care about your safety,' because you don't care about my safety. You care about some people's safety.
"My knees mean just as much to my family and my ability to play and provide just as much as (Dolphins quarterback Ryan) Tannehill's does. I can understand that his are more important than mine."
On its scheduled competition committee conference call this week, Troy Vincent, the league's football operations chief, said there would be no changes to the point of emphasis put in place in the spring.
Part of the issue could be that teams are playing their starters less and less during the exhibition season, and the league wants to send a message early so defensive players adjust accordingly. That would suggest fewer of these calls as the season progresses.
Either way, Matthews, who will face Buffalo rookie Josh Allen on Sunday, is out to break a streak.
