"I don't know who was behind him, but it didn't work out that way. "Really Davante is supposed to jump, and I'm supposed and box out and wait for a tip," Rodgers said. Whenever Aaron tries to throw the ball, I try to catch it. "I just try to make the most of my opportunities," Richard Rodgers said. But Rodgers decided to try for the pass anyway. The final pass, however, was intended for Davante Adams. Richard Rodgers caught all eight passes targeted for him in the game and finished with 146 yards receiving, the first 100-yard receiving game of his career. A big-time play at the last possible moment of the game. "Just before the ball was snapped, we were talking on the headphones that if anyone can get it there, Aaron can. It was clear as day that Rodgers made the catch.
Richard Rodgers grabbed the ball securely with both hands above his head, positioned at the front of a pack of players. Before the game, the two Rodgers were playing catch in warm-ups, with the quarterback sending the ball as high as he could for the tight end to catch in a fun exercise.
Similarly perplexing was the decision to ignore Richard Rodgers, the biggest receiver in the vicinity of the pass at 6-4, 272 pounds. The Lions must have figured the Packers would try a similar approach when they manned the field with seven defensive backs and a linebacker but not 6-5 receiving star Calvin Johnson, who would have been an ideal weapon on a Hail Mary play. Television replays showed Taylor grabbed Rodgers' shoulder pads near his neck and only his thumb brushed his facemask, but the penalty gave the Packers one last snap with the clock reading zero. Jones lateraled to Richard Rodgers, who lateraled it back to Aaron Rodgers in a doomed last-gasp that died at the Packers 24-yard line.īut in tackling Aaron Rodgers, Lions defensive end Devin Taylor was flagged for a face-mask penalty. The game appeared over when Rodgers hit James Jones for 19 yards, still shy of midfield on a snap with 6 seconds left. I felt good about the throw getting to the end zone and I knew by the height that I put on it that we were going to have a chance to have guys around it." The friendly facemask "I knew it was going to be in the end zone. I was just looking for the 40-yard line for a launching point. "You're looking for a pocket to either move up in or move out. "Our guys had just run three straight vertical routes, so I knew I was going to have to give them some time to get to the end zone," Rodgers said. But a rally capped by a 61-yard heave hauled in by tight end Richard Rodgers - a snap taken with no time on the clock - breathed new life into the season and new mythology into Aaron Rodgers' lore. 3 before a national television audience on Thursday Night Football, the Packers' division-title hopes were tenuous when they fell behind the Detroit Lions, 20-0. The "Hail Mary" might be associated with Doug Flutie in college football (although by its own moniker of "Hail Flutie"), but since 2015, hearing the words "Hail Mary" immediately conjures the masterpiece authored by Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. questionably.īut when it came down, it was a moment that became instantly iconic.ĭwight Clark will always be the guy who made "The Catch," the Broncos will always be the team that executed "The Drive," and if you Google "The Throw," you get Bo Jackson's cannon to third base while playing for the Kansas City Royals.
The play maybe shouldn't have even happened depending on how you evaluate the facemask penalty one play earlier. The pass protection broke down immediately. The personnel on the field was disorganized. The pass wasn't intended for the guy who caught it. 20.Įverything about The Hail Mary was wrong.
With the sports world on hold, we present a countdown of the 50 greatest moments in Wisconsin sports history over the past 50 years.