Matthews Wins Title for Family, Packers

ARLINGTON, Texas – Clay Matthews III is known for his hard hits and none during his two-year career mattered more than the blow he put on Rashard Mendenhall during the opening drive of the fourth quarter Sunday night.

The hit forced Mendenhall to fumble, allowing Desmond Bishop to grab the ball and give the Packers possession en route to a 31-25 victory in Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium.

“That’s just what we’ve been doing all season long, creating turnovers,” said Matthews, an Agoura native. “If we create turnovers and give the ball back to our offense it’s going to be hard to beat us. Those points off of turnovers were the difference in the game. Defense wins championships and it was no different today.”

"I got hit and the ball came out," said Mendenhall. "It just happened and it should not have happened."

During the trophy ceremony he grabbed a mock title belt, which he said he found in the mayhem.

“I thought it would be fitting to win the title belt, Aaron [Rodgers] bringing the title back home,” said Matthews. “He’s the MVP. I’m sure it will make some good pictures out there.”

The win doesn’t just bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay, it’s original home, but also marks the first Super Bowl for the Matthews family, which has endured over 40 years of professional football between Clay Matthews, Clay Matthews Jr. and his uncle Bruce Matthews.

“It means a great deal,” said Matthews, whose uncle appeared in Super Bowl XXXIV with the Tennessee Titans, but lost to St. Louis. “We haven’t had great success in the Super Bowl. I think we have 38 combined years between my uncle and father and only have one Super Bowl loss to show for it. Two years and I’m a Super Bowl champion – that means a great deal. So we’re going to enjoy this tonight and get the proverbial monkey off the Matthews’ back.”

Green Bay held off a charging Pittsburgh team thanks to Matthews and Bishop, the leaders on a defense missing Charles Woodson and Sam Shields for extended periods due to injury.

“We just kept battling,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “We had some adversity, we lost some guys to injury and we had some rough plays there.  In the third quarter with the penalties, our guys just kept fighting.  I can’t say enough about them.”

"This is what you play the game for," added Matthews. "You don’t play it for individual awards. You don’t play it for anything else – the money or the fame. You play it to be world champions and that’s what we are today. I know my family is going to be enjoying this, I’m going to be enjoying this, and hopefully we can do this for years to come."