Rams' Clay Matthews Fined for Tweet Criticizing NFL Refs' Controversial Calls

Los Angeles Rams linebacker Clay Matthews was fined $12,500 for criticizing officials following the Green Bay Packers' controversial 23-22 win on Monday over the Detroit Lions.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the news.

As Chris Thomas of the Detroit Free Press noted, the Lions were on the wrong end of highly questionable calls in their one-point loss, with two penalties for illegal hands to the face on defensive end Trey Flowers being the most noteworthy.

The first one extended a drive that ended in an Allen Lazard touchdown, and the second helped lead to a game-winning field goal with no time left.

Matthews let his feelings be known after watching the game, but he isn't the only NFL player to take a financial hit for expressing his concerns with NFL officiating.

Earlier on Saturday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield was fined $12,500 for voicing his displeasure over an illegal blindside block call against wideout Jarvis Landry versus the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6.

"I'll probably get fined for this, but it was pretty bad today," Mayfield told reporters after the 32-28 loss. "The guy is squared up with [Landry], running at him and he is lowering his head into Jarvis. What is he supposed to do? Avoid him? This is not bull fighting. It ticks me off."

NFL officiating has arguably seen the most scrutiny since replacement refs were called to handle the first three weeks of the 2012 season during the NFL referee lockout.

In Week 2, New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan appeared to return a fumble for a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams, but the play was erroneously blown dead, negating the score.

On that same day, the Denver Broncos lost 16-14 to the Chicago Bears after a questionable roughing-the-passer call on defensive end Bradley Chubb. After the game, league officials told Broncos general manager John Elway that the call was "dead wrong," per Joe Rubino of the Denver Post.

Pass interference calls are still up for debate even after rule changes allowed coaches to challenge the penalty. In Week 6, New York Giants wideout Golden Tate was clearly interfered with against the New England Patriots. No call was made, but New York head coach Pat Shurmur challenged the call. He lost the bid.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote, "The league office quickly upheld the ruling on the field—so quickly that it underscored the message to all coaches: Don't bother."

Evidently, players aren't deterred from speaking out on officiating decisions, even if it means taking a financial hit.