Packers QB Rodgers did not complain facemask no-call

The Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers did not complain about a potential facemask penalty that wasn’t called on Sunday night’s overtime playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals, instead, he was more concerned about his own mistakes in failing to lead the team to a victory.


Facing third-and-6 on the first series of overtime, a cornerback wearing Cardinals jersey blitzed Rodgers, apparently grabbing Rodgers’ facemask, and knocked the ball out. But officials did not call any penalty. The ball then bounced off Rodgers’ foot and into the hands of Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby, who ran for a touchdown to give Arizona a 51-45 victory.

According to NFL rules, “twisting, turning or pulling” the facemask should result in a 15-yard penalty, but in an explanation of the rule issued by the NFL later, it said that the penalty for an “incidental” grab of the facemask was eliminated before the 2008 season.