On Sunday, the Green Bay Packers looked to secure a win over their division rival, the Minnesota Vikings. Packers defender Jaire Alexander intercepted a pass from Vikings QB Kirk Cousins late in the fourth quarter. The game seemed all but over, but it was not. Referee Tony Corrente called a roughing the passer penalty on Packers LB Clay Matthews. The Vikings' drive continued, and they ultimately scored to tie the game. After a flurry of missed field goals, the game ended up that way.

The penalty call on Matthews has been heavily criticized. It seems that the only ones defending it are those in NFL offices.

Controversial call

Almost immediately, the harsh responses set in. ESPN's Mike Golic, a former NFL defensive player, has been particularly vocal about it. Members from other networks have also voiced their opinions, including NBC's Dan Patrick and Fox's Skip Bayless. Current NFL players including Von Miller and Aaron Donald were perplexed by the call. According to NBC Sports, Hall of Famer Brett Favre, a former Packer and Viking, said it was a "textbook hit." Recently retired All-Pro tackle Joe Thomas was very blunt on Twitter. According to Yahoo, he wrote on Twitter that the call's defenders should be "taken away to North Korea."

There have been a number of rule changes to protect quarterbacks.

The Packers and their fans probably know as well as anybody how vulnerable the position is. Player safety is a major issue and should be the league's top concern, but the NFL's rules are also leaving defenders vulnerable. As they try to contort their bodies to the NFL's will, their reward is to be assigned ridiculous penalties.

The NFL claims that the call was good because Matthews supposedly lifted Cousins up and slammed him to the ground.

Not the first time a controversial call cost the Packers a win

The Packers, like a number of other teams, are not strangers to bad calls costing them dearly. Perhaps most famous was a 2012 Monday Night game against the Seattle Seahawks.

The game took place as regular NFL officials were on strike, leaving the games to be handled by replacement officials. The Packers seemed to have secured an interception to end the game, but the play was somehow ruled a touchdown, giving the Seahawks the win. Furthermore, a blatant penalty was committed by the Seahawks during the play, which was not called. The resulting outcry caused the strike to end and the regular officials returned to work -- one week too late for the Packers.

Going back further, the Packers lost a playoff game against Arizona following the 2009 season amid controversy. A blown penalty call pinned them deep in their own territory. Shortly after, a fumble by Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was run back by Arizona for the winning score.

However, it turned out that Rodgers had been pulled to the ground by his facemask. Somehow, the referee apparently missed this and it was not called.

Many football fans are familiar with the famous clip of the playoff touchdown catch by 49ers WR Terrell Owens. It happened following the 1998 season, with the team's radio announcer yelling "He caught it!" excitedly. The play probably should have never happened. Earlier in the drive, 49ers WR Jerry Rice fumbled the ball and it was recovered by the Packers. However, the officials incorrectly ruled that Rice was down by contact and the drive continued. This ultimately led to replay review being used in its current format by the NFL, as well as other sports leagues -- but, again, it was too late for the Packers.