While there’s no NFL rule specifying the need for another flip, referee Clete Blakeman used his judgment to determine that “basic fairness” dictated that the coin should be re-tossed before the start of overtime of Green Bay’s game at Arizona on Saturday night, according to league spokesman Michael Signora.
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With time expiring in regulation and the Packers trailing the Cardinals by seven last night, Aaron Rodgers launched an off-balance Hail Mary pass from about his own 45-yard line – one that, incredibly, was caught in the end zone by Green Bay wide receiver Jeff Janis.
It was enough time for a final heave to the end zone, where Janis outjumped All-Pro cornerback Peterson and safety Rashad Johnson to bring the ball down as the Packers fans went insane and the Cardinals faithful fell silent.
“He picked the coin up and flipped it to tails and then he flipped it without giving me a chance to give me a re-call there”. The Cardinals won 26-20 in overtime.
The NFL’s only five-time MVP earned one more and possibly final game against his rival by leading the Denver Broncos to a come-from-behind 23-16 win over Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers on a blustery Sunday.
“I can’t say we played our best game”, Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said.
This is the first playoff win for Carson Palmer and Bruce Arians.
Palmer recorded 349 yards passing for three touchdowns to offset two interceptions.
“As simple as a word as “special” is, it describes him probably the best”, Palmer said of Fitzgerald, who caught eight passes for 176 yards.
“You know our style, you know our aggressiveness”, Keim said.
“Yeah, it’s a really high, high there where you tie it up last play of the game and then have the debacle with the coin toss and then you don’t get to touch the ball in the overtime”, Rodgers said. That made Rodgers a stunning 0-7-1 in overtime games in his career and 0-3 in playoff OT games.
You’ll feel the confusion as the game officials are forced to re-flip the overtime coin toss.
First, was the all important coin toss. To make matters worse, the Packers didn’t have rookie wide receiver Davante Adams on Saturday as he sat out the game with an injury. If the Cardinals were to meet Seattle, Arizona would get to host next Sunday’s game at home.
“That was odd, ” Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer said.
What an incredible football player.
– Keim said he does not believe Palmer’s injured finger was a factor in Palmer’s game – which featured a few near-interceptions, aside from the two he threw.
Desperate and treading water in the opposite end zone, Rodgers threw up a fourth-down prayer – a prayer that went 60 yards, and sunk into the hands of Jeff Janis.
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Notes: Green Bay lost safety Micah Hyde to a hip injury in the second quarter….
