Panthers great Greg Olsen hated penalty on Xavier Woods for clean hit against Cowboys

Greg Olsen didn't like a penalty call on Sunday.

Nov 19, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Former Panther and now announcer Greg Olsen during pregame warm ups between the Carolina Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Former Carolina Panthers legend Greg Olsen got the rare chance to call a Panthers game on Sunday. It was the first time he'd been able to call a game for FOX in the stadium he called home for so many years, though it ended in shocking disappointment for the home team.

It was an ugly game throughout. The Panthers struggled mightily against a subpar opponent, and the winning Cowboys committed an astounding 14 penalties. One Panthers penalty, a hit flagged from Xavier Woods on CeeDee Lamb, sparked a strong stance from Olsen.

Greg Olsen makes plain his stance on controversial Xavier Woods hit

During the first half, CeeDee Lamb caught a slant route and was almost immediately blown up by safety Xavier Woods. It was flagged for unneccesary roughness, something Woods has struggled with at times this year.

However, on the replay, the hit looked as clean as it could be. It was delivered with Woods' shoulder and it landed on Lamb's shoulder. It was textbook, but the flag stayed. Olsen, on the broadcast, didn't like that.

He did admit that it's hard for officials to see in real-time whether or not the hit was with or to the head, and violent hits look violent and often deserve a flag. “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," he said. “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.”

There was a later play in which David Moore failed to catch a ball across the middle and was hit directly in the helmet by a Cowboys defender with no flag. Olsen said that the NFL has to choose one call or the other. Either they flag both hits or they let both plays stand, but they were inconsistent with two similar plays on Sunday.

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