Then he zipped up his leather jacket, unleashed a deep sigh and turned around.
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Fitzgerald’s 75-yard catch and run on the first play of overtime set up Fitzgerald’s 5-yard touchdown shovel pass to give the Cardinals a 26-20 win over the Packers in Saturday night’s NFC divisional playoff game at University of Phoenix Stadium. James Jones couldn’t hold on to Rodgers’ throw, giving the ball back to Arizona.
But at that moment, all Rodgers could think about was the chance he hadn’t gotten, again. Green Bay wasted little time converting the turnover into a touchdown, using a 61-yard run from Eddie Lacy to set up a 6-yard scoring pass from Rodgers to Jeff Janis for a 13-7 lead. “So it’s a pretty low low there”.
The Packers thought they had the ball on the doorstep three plays into the drive, but Randall Cobb’s diving, one-handed catch was negated because of offsetting penalties at the line of scrimmage.
The Packers next drive stuttered badly and Rodgers missed his receiver with a fourth down conversion, giving the Cardinals the ball in great field position and in field goal range.
The Arizona Cardinals will have a leg up on the Green Bay Packers immediately when the two teams kick-off on Saturday night as the Cardinals are much healthier than the banged up Packers.
The Cardinals are a tough team and also have one of the most complete squads as they have strength in both the offensive and defensive end of the field. “And unfortunately, it comes down to that”.
“We kind of felt like this was a possibility to be able to go back there after that loss”, said Rodgers, who was sacked eight times and threw for 151 yards at Arizona.
Arizona last played two weeks ago in an ugly Week 17 loss to Seattle where they couldn’t tackle anyone, the special teams were very bad, Palmer was off, and they were done by the middle of the second quarter.
Rodgers wouldn’t get to make another. This game could have – should have? – ended in regulation on Michael Floyd’s tipped catch.
The Cardinals begin the game with possession, but they go three and out.
“I didn’t know where anybody was really”, Rodgers said.
The Packers (11-6, 10-7 ATS) have been inconsistent on offense this year while dealing with injuries to skill players and linemen, but the team seemed to find a groove in last week’s playoff game with the Redskins.
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GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Green Bay lost top receiver Randall Cobb to a chest injury in the first quarter of its playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals. “I love being a Packer”. “It’s a one-and-done mentality and the focus goes up and the intensity goes up”. You would hope all those messages would resonate.
