Greg Olsen had a big problem with officials penalizing Carolina Panthers safety Xavier Woods for a hit he made on Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. Woods hit Lamb after a short pass completion late in the first half of Sunday’s game, and officials penalized Woods for unnecessary roughness. While it was a hard hit, it looked as if Woods hit Lamb with his shoulder.
“In live action, it looked like Woods hit him with his shoulder … remember, it has to be forceable contact to the head or neck area. It’s so hard in live action to see where the contact is,” Greg Olsen said during the broadcast, per Awful Announcing. “It looks right shoulder to right shoulder. … I think that’s clean. You see his head whip back. In live action, I get it, it’s not an easy play to call live.”
Olsen then sounded off on the officials after they made the call. “You can see the Panthers sideline is irate, as is Xavier Woods. I get it. It’s a hard hit. CeeDee Lamb takes a shot here. But this is a right shoulder to right shoulder hit. Listen, if we’re going to outlaw this in the NFL, then we just have to tell our defensive backs you gotta let ’em just catch it because it’s just not a penalty.”
More on Xavier Woods and CeDee Lamb
That was a tough penalty for the Panthers who suffered a 30-14 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday. Ultimately, it was the turnovers that hurt Carolina as quarterback Bryce Young threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles. Woods finished the day with seven tackles.
The Cowboys earned their sixth win of the year and have an outside chance to reach the playoffs. It was a normal day for Lamb, tallying nine receptions for 116 yards and one touchdown. Lamb now has 1,000 receiving yards this year and became the first player in Cowboys history to reach that feat in four of his first five seasons.
“It means a lot and that all of my hard work is paying off,” Lamb said after the game, per Patrik Walker of DallasCowboys.com. “I’m mad consistent with my work and my approach towards every year, and it’s good to see that it shows up. I’m grateful for it and grateful for the opportunity to be in this organization — doing what I’m doing — and I’m looking forward to many more of those [records].”
