Mike McCarthy on Aaron Rodgers: Best throw I’ve seen

With the ball sailing overhead, they couldn’t defend anything.

Rodgers’ game-winning Hail Mary pass now joins a select club of game-winning Hail Mary plays in National Football League history.

In case you missed it, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Detroit Lions 27-23 on what was a ridiculous finish to Thursday Night Football.

Needless to say, a lot went wrong for the Lions. “I don’t know if you can write that script”.

In order to get the ball into the end zone, Rodgers was going to have to throw the ball about 70 yards, typically the upper-limit for most top quarterbacks. The limited pass rush allowed that. Because that’s how the play is designed: not only does a high-angle pass give receivers more time to make it down the field, but ideally, it gives them time to get in position to bring it down. I think the penalty should have been an incidental facemask (5 yards) and not a personal foul (15 yards), but a penalty is a penalty, and Rodgers would have still had a chance for his epic throw. “But when it happens that fast and the head goes down, you’re gonna get a flag on that, for player safety”. CRUCIAL SCRAMBLE: The Lions looked out of sorts defensively on a crucial scramble by Rodgers. If the Vikings and Packers are within a game of each other in either direction going into their Week 17 showdown at Lambeau, the victor of that game will win the division. Why? The Lions were concerned instead about the possibility of needing an open-field tackle. “But when both players are playing the ball, that’s not pass interference”.

With the clock at 0:00, Aaron Rodgers reset the offense for the extra play from the Packers’ 39-yard line. On an untimed down (due to a Lions facemask penalty) Aaron Rodgers connected with Richard Rodgers on a 61-yard touchdown to end the game. He’s a guy that’s just been working super-hard and we felt like he deserved an opportunity. His job was to be the box-out guy, clearing the way for Adams to make a play on the ball while also staying alert for a deflection. Richard Rodgers was the game’s high receiver (thanks to that last catch) with eight grabs for 146 yards and the score.

Adios, Coach. And unless you were directly ordering his play calling for the last 45 minutes, take Jim Bob with you.

And it all comes back to that one (somewhat) season saving pass. With just one play, Rodgers has effectively flipped the script and silenced all the critics who have picked at him this year.

“Until that clock ticks zero, there’s no such thing as certain victory”, Caldwell said. And it was clearly important to Mike McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers who were in jeopardy of dropping their fifth game out of six before the late heroics.

Now Detroit’s three-game winning streak is over, and the best the Lions (4-8) can hope for is a. 500 record.