Arians was asked what his message to the team was following the the game – a game that wasn’t the typical dominating high scoring easy victory that Cardinals fans have grown accustomed to this season.
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– Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals, caught eight passes for 176 yards – including two for 80 and the winning touchdown in overtime – in Arizona’s 26-20 victory over Green Bay. On the last play of regulation, Rodgers found Janis for an unbelievable 41-yard Hail Mary as time expired.
Even more astounding, it was fourth-and-20 from the Packers’ 4-yard line when he took the snap and retreated into his end zone, scrambling to his left to finally let the first pass fly.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jeff Janis (83) catches a touchdown pass against Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson (21) and free safety Rashad Johnson (26) during the second half in a NFC Divisional round playoff game at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Rodgers’ heroics: Just to get the game to that point, Rodgers managed to pass for 101 yards – on two completions – in the final 55 seconds of the fourth quarter. But none may have been so dizzyingly incomprehensible as the fact that the overtime coin flip had to be redone because the coin itself didn’t flip on the first attempt.
Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer spun away from a tackle and made a cross-field pass to a wide open Fitzgerald who eluded a series of tackles before being brought down just short of the end zone for a 75-yard gain.
The Cardinals will now advance to the NFC Championship game, playing the victor of the Seahawks-Panthers divisional game.
The Cardinals, who got two touchdown receptions from Michael Floyd _ one on a ricochet _ can take solace in the fact that even when they aren’t at their best, they’re good enough to move forward.
The Cardinals caught a break on the Packers’ next series when a 49-yard pass from Rodgers to Cobb was called back because of an illegal offensive shift. Janis came up huge for the Packers, stepping up in place of an injured Randall Cobb.
That’s when the rocket-armed quarterback _ who beat Detroit with a Hail Mary earlier this season _ heaved a 60-yard pass to Janis. Amazingly, 170 of those yards came in the second half and overtime.
The only person the Packers couldn’t stop is Fitzgerald and it wasn’t just on the lone overtime drive where he had 80 yards and the winning touchdown. For the third consecutive year, the Packers’ season ended on the last play of the game.
For a few moments, this looked as if it might turn out to be a win for the ages for a Packers team that has had quite a few of them in their storied history.
That’s what a Hail Mary that didn’t end the game, a coin-toss do over, a busted coverage to start overtime and a play one coach had been saving all season will do to you.
Rebounding from 10 consecutive games with a passer rating under 100, Rodgers threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns.
A odd play had given Arizona a 20-13 lead with 3:44 to play.
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It was Green Bay’s second straight disheartening exit from the playoffs, too. “Clete had it on heads”, Rodgers said.
