Week 17 vs. Detroit Game Release.indd - NFL.com

MATTHEWS MAKES HIS WAY TO THE QUARTERBACK
LB Clay Matthews has been one of the most productive players in the
NFL since he entered the league in 2009 when it comes to getting after the
quarterback.
Matthews has registered 29.5 sacks since 2009, which is tied for No. 8
in the league over that span.
Matthews’ six sacks this season lead the team. He paced the defense in
sacks each of his first two seasons (2009-10) in Green Bay.
While Matthews doesn’t rank among the league leaders in sacks this
season, he has continued to provide consistent pressure on opposing
signal-callers.
According to STATS LLC, Matthews is tied for No. 2 in the league in
combined quarterback knockdowns and hurries this season (stats are
through Week 15 since they are updated on Wednesdays):
Player
QB Knockdowns/Hurries
1. Cameron Wake, MIA 37.0 (22.5/14.5)
2t. Clay Matthews, GB 36.5 (23.0/13.5)
2t. Tamba Hali, KC 36.5 (23.5/13.0)
4. Jason Babin, PHI 33.5 (26.0/7.5)
5. Julius Peppers, CHI 33.0 (13.0/20.0)
When Matthews intercepted Giants QB Eli Manning at New York in Week
13 and returned the pick 38 yards for a score, it marked the third straight
season that Matthews had scored a defensive TD.
By doing so, Matthews became the first player in franchise history
to score a defensive TD (interception or fumble return) in each of his
first three seasons in the league.
Matthews is one of only two NFL linebackers (Miami LB Kevin Burnett)
to record an interception for a score each of the past two seasons.
Matthews has posted a career-high three interceptions this season. It
is tied for the most in a season by a Green Bay linebacker since 1984.
Matthews was named to his second straight Pro Bowl last season and
was named NFL Defensive MVP by Pro Football Weekly/PFWA. He also
earned NFC Defensive Player of the Year recognition from Sporting
News and the Committee of 101.
He received first-team All-Pro honors from The Associated Press,
the first Packer LB to earn that recognition since Tim Harris in 1989.
Matthews finished second to only Pittsburgh S Troy Polamalu in the AP
Defensive Player of the Year voting.
With a sack of QB Jon Kitna in the second quarter in Week 9 last season
against Dallas, Matthews became the first Packer since the stat became
official in 1982 to register a double-digit sack total in each of his first
two seasons in the NFL.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Matthews became the first NFL
player since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 to register
double-digit sacks and a defensive TD in each of his first two seasons
in the NFL.
With two sacks of Falcons QB Matt Ryan in the Divisional contest last
season, Matthews became the first player in team history (since
1982) to post at least one sack in each of his first three career postseason
games. With 4.5 career sacks in the postseason, Matthews already
ranks No. 2 in team playoff annals behind only DE Reggie White (eight).
Matthews’ 3.5 sacks last postseason were the most in franchise history
(since 1982) in a single postseason.
LIONS AT PACKERS - WEEK 17
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Matthews has posted two or more sacks in a game six times in his
career. Five of those two-sack games came in Matthews’ first 18 games
in a Packers uniform, breaking White’s franchise mark of four in his first
18 games with Green Bay (1993-94).
In 2009, Matthews set a Packers rookie record with 10 sacks on his way
to earning Pro Bowl honors, the first Green Bay rookie to be named to
the all-star game since Hall of Fame WR James Lofton in 1978.
With one game remaining in his third season, Matthews is tied for No. 1
in team history (since 1982) for the most sacks by a Packer in his first
three seasons in the NFL:
Player
Sacks
1t. Clay Matthews, 2009-11 29.5
1t. Tony Bennett, 1990-92 29.5
3. Tim Harris, 1986-88 28.5
4. Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, 2000-02 27.0
A look at where Matthews’ sack total in his first 20 games ranked in NFL
history (since 1982):
Player
Sacks
1. Clay Matthews, GB 17.0
2t. Leslie O’Neal, SD 16.5
2t. John Abraham, NYJ 16.5
SHARING THE SCORING
When three different Packers scored their first touchdowns of the 2011
season in Week 14 vs. Oakland, it brought Green Bay’s total number of
players with a TD this season to 19.
With 19 players scoring TDs this season, the Packers set a singleseason
franchise record:
Season
Players Scoring TD
1. 2011 19
2. 2008 18
3t. 1931, 1990, 1996, 1998. 2002 15
Green Bay’s total is two shy of the single-season NFL record of 21, a
number posted by several teams, most recently by New England in
2007.
Six Green Bay players have scored at least five TDs this season, the second
most of the most of any team in the NFL behind only New Orleans
(seven players).
It marks the second time in franchise history that the Packers have
accomplished that feat. The only other season that saw Green Bay have
six players each score five-plus TDs was 1984 (also six).
The Packers check in at No. 1 in the league this season with the
19 different players having scored TDs:
Team
Players Scoring TD
1. Green Bay 19
2. Chicago 17
3t. Buffalo, Tennessee 15