The Sports Xchange

Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews was fined $17,363 for a hit on St. Louis quarterback Nick Foles, the NFL announced on Friday.

Matthews was fined for a first-quarter hit on Foles in which he didn’t draw a penalty. Rams coach Jeff Fisher and former NFL head of officiating Mike Pereira both stated that Matthews should have been penalized because Foles was defenseless and Matthews used the crown of his helmet.

Matthews said he isn’t going to change his style of play.

“You play hard,” Matthews told reporters. “I play hard. What happens is what happens. I don’t think anybody in this league, hopefully, intentionally goes out there to break the rules. You know, when you play hard, you have no regrets. That’s how I play, whether it’s a face mask or a low hit on the quarterback.

“I don’t think anybody intentionally, especially myself, goes out there and tries to inflict illegal hits or pain or whatever you like to call it. It’s just a byproduct of playing hard, I believe.”