He made the play, but he was aided by a lot of miscues by the Lions.
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Rodgers (12) smiles during his post game interview after the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.
“I wasn’t able to get away from those guys, but luckily my facemask was grabbed”, the two-time MVP said. The limited pass rush allowed that.
“We practiced it a little bit in pregame. He was like ‘we’ve got to go forward, there’s no time left we’ve got to do something.’ So, it worked out in our favor, I guess”, said Richard Rodgers.
Perhaps most crucially, the Lions were concerned that Green Bay might not throw a Hail Mary at all. Then, Ansah and Quandre Diggs effectively lined up as cornerbacks with the assignment of containing a play with laterals, which the Packers had tried the previous play. So Detroit didn’t bother putting Calvin Johnson in to defend a heave to the end zone.
The Lions’ defensive alignment started with three linemen, ends Jason Jones and Devin Taylor and tackle Haloti Ngata.
However, it looks like Rodgers’ pass was even more incredible in person, and the sheer height he got on the pass wasn’t properly reflected on TV. “Obviously, we weren’t in position to defend it”.
There were still six Detroit players left to defend five eligible receivers.
Next series Rodgers marches down the field and ends up running in untouched from 17 yards out for a touchdown. “When you see Richard’s big paws underneath it, that was a good sign”, Packers backup quarterback Scott Tolzien said to media.
COMPLAINTS: Caldwell disputed the facemask call.
“It was called, so therefore it is and we’ve just got to find a way to make the play”, Caldwell said.
After losing a heartbreaker to Seattle earlier in the year on a missed call, the Detroit Lions fell on the wrong end of another bad call, costing them the game against the Packers. Lost in the loss will be Johnson’s 17-yard TD catch in the first quarter in which he leaped the catch it with two hands, squeezed the ball with only his right hand as he planted his right foot and dragged his left on the side of the end zone. Bynes and Adams jostled for position. On a third down play from the Green Bay two yard line, Matthew Stafford identified a gap in coverage and connected with a wide open Eric Ebron for a quick touchdown strike.
Via Elias, it was the second-longest game-winning touchdown on a run or a pass from scrimmage with time expired in league history.
“Not an easy pill to swallow”, Stafford said.
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During his appearance on NFL Network, Blandino also defended the officials’ decision not to throw a flag on the play just before the facemask.
