Former Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman Trevor Pryce spent 14 years rushing quarterbacks for a living, but he stands behind the league's emphasis on flagging defenders for roughing the passer.
There were 70 roughing the passer penalties called in 2017, but there have already been 33 such calls three weeks into the 2018 season. It's been a focus of the league's officials, who have been calling more penalties on defenders who "land on top of [a quarterback] with all or most of his body weight," per NFL rules.
The most notable penalties have come against Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews, who has been flagged in consecutive games for controversial roughing the passer penalties. In Week 2 against Minnesota, a potential game-clinching interception was negated because Matthews landed on top of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. The game ended in a tie.
