Fitzgerald caught eight passes for 176 yards.
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The way this one was going Saturday night for awhile, it was going to be a little more hard to find who deserved game balls for the Arizona Cardinals.
Palmer was 25-of-41 for 349 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Eddie Lacy then ripped off a 61 yard run to the Arizona 8, setting up Rodgers’ touchdown pass of 8 yards to Janis that put the Packers up 13-7. Larry Fitzgerald may be the only guy who takes it up multiple levels.
“As simple a word as “special” is, it describes him probably the best”, Palmer said. But as the Cardinals’ captains signaled they wanted the ball, Rodgers and the Packers’ other captains loudly protested, claiming the coin didn’t flip over. Drafted in 2004, Fitzgerald has become a staple of the Cardinals organization with more than 13,000 total yards in the past eleven years.
The Cardinals’ opponent for a spot in the Super Bowl will be decided in Sunday’s Seattle Seahawks-Carolina Panthers game.
Arizona thought it had the game won after Chandler Catanzaro’s 26-yard field goal with 1:55 left to play extended the Cardinals’ lead to 20-13. Arizona had just 40 yards rushing against Green Bay, led by David Johnson’s 35 on 15 carries.
The Cardinals appeared to strike again early in the second when cornerback Patrick Peterson intercepted Rodgers at the goal line on the 14th play of a drive that started at the Green Bay 5.
Janis, a 6-foot-3 backup receiver, outjumped defenders Patrick Peterson and Rashad Johnson for the ball.
“I’ve never seen it before, not even a half of a revolution on a coin flip”, Leach said. “I saw Jeff briefly and I just tried to put some air on it and give him a chance”. “There were freakish plays made by both teams”.
The Packers were short-handed on offense after losing wide receiver Randall Cobb, as he was declared out with a chest injury. New England’s Rob Gronkowski surpassed Dave Casper and Vernon Davis for the most touchdown catches by a tight end in postseason history with eight, including two in the Patriots’ 27-20 win over Kansas City…. Then with 3:44 left in the game Palmer had a pass tipped into the endzone for a lead taking touchdown by Michael Floyd.
Carson Palmer, who hit Michael Floyd on two touchdown passes, rolled right on Arizona’s first play and threw back left to Fitzgerald.
After a curious double coin toss, Arizona received and on the first play from scrimmage, Carson Palmer somehow eluded a Mike Neal sack, spinning out of the pocket and throwing across the field to a wide open Larry Fitzgerald.
Larry Fitzgerald scored the winning touchdown to give the Cardinals a 26-20 victory after the Packers had forced overtime with a “Hail Mary” touchdown pass as time expired in the fourth quarter.
Instead, the Packers got the ball back and after a 17-play drive that lasted 7 minutes, 31 seconds, they had to settle for a 28-yard field goal by Mason Crosby. He got to Rodgers on their final possession, forcing a 3rd-and-20 at the Packers’ own four-yard line.
A few plays later, from the Arizona 41, with five seconds left, Rodgers did it a-frickin-gain.
“I think we made it tougher than it should have been, especially in the end, ” Arians said. Green Bay gets it after the punt and they go three and out.
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“My damn jaw was on the ground, ” he said. Gronkowski made seven catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns. “You’ve just got to keep all of your emotions in check”. Cardinals lead the Packers 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. “We want to play in front of our fans”, Cardinals running back Andre Ellington said.
