Jordan Matthews: I ‘definitely think’ the hit was a penalty

Jordan Matthews got hit really hard in the head in the fourth quarter of the Eagles’ win over the Falcons. According to the NFL’s rules, that is supposed to be a penalty. According to the referees officiating the game in Philadelphia on Sunday, it was not.

Here’s a look at the moment of impact, again:

Yeah.

After the game, Matthews spoke to reporters about the hit. Here are his full comments:

Q: Do you think it was a penalty there?

A: Yeah, I definitely think it was. My helmet was bent, and I had to get a new face mask. They had to change out my face mask and my visor, so I don’t know what they saw, but at the end of the day we got the win so I’ll take the play and get the win.

Q: Did you get an explanation?

A: No, they didn’t talk to me at all. I don’t know. They didn’t see much that game, so they probably didn’t see me over there to talk to me. It’s all understood. As long as we get the win, I’m good.

Q: Was it a cheap shot?

A: I was surprised we didn’t get a call. I could feel my lip bleeding. I was like, ‘There’s no way this guy didn’t just hit me in the face. I must be tripping, but I’m pretty sure I just got smacked in the face.’ But hey, it didn’t get called. Like I said, I was upset for a little bit, but as long as we get the win, I’m cool. I can sleep good tonight. I think they’re obviously going to go back and review it, and some disciplinary action will be taken, probably.

Q: Maybe you got up too quickly?

A: Maybe, maybe. It must be something. I was like, ‘Are you guys serious?’ I don’t know what they saw. I don’t know if they were watching the football game, or they were thinking about going to Chickie’s later, I don’t know. But there was a football game going on and I got hit in the face.

Q: Did you go through concussion protocol?

A: Yeah, they did. Our training staff is great. They asked me a whole bunch of questions, we did ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ on the sidelines and I did well, so they ended up letting me go back in and I was able to play, so I was cool with it.