The Green Bay Packers improved to 8-4 with their most improbably win ever. I have seen some unbelievable late comeback wins by the Packers but this one takes the cake. I still can’t believe what I saw last night. Aaron Rodgers 61-yard moon-ball to tight end Richard Rodgers will go down in history as one of the greatest finishes in NFL history.
The Packers really had no business winning this game. For over two-and-a-half quarters the Packers were unable to muster a point. Trailing 20-0 the Packers finally got on the board with 5:44 left in the third quarter when James Starks fumbled the ball into the end zone and Randall Cobb recovered it. They scored again 1:38 later thanks to a Julius Peppers strip sack and all of a sudden they were back in it.
The Lions tacked on a field goal and while the Packers answered with a TD with 3:04 left all the Lions had to do was run the clock out. They couldn’t do it. They left 23 seconds on the clock. From there NFL history was made.
Aaron Rodgers has never been known as a great comeback quarterback, mostly because he is rarely in comeback mode. He has made some big plays to win games, the TD pass to Cobb to beat the Bears and win the division two years ago immediately comes to mind, but this one is the best yet and will never be topped.
The pass, catch, and celebration, will be replayed for as long as the NFL is around, and even beyond. Whether it turns around the Packers’ season, however, is yet to be determined.
For most of the game the Packers displayed the same dysfunctional offense they have shown the last six weeks while losing four of those games. On the flip side, the Packers’ defense played awesomely for the fourth consecutive week. Take away the short field TD and they once again held their opponent under 20 points.
I’m not so sure this win will propel the Packers to bigger and better things. I don’t think you can just flip the switch and play great all of a sudden. But it will certainly give them some confidence because it shows the never say die attitude can actually pay off once in awhile.
I still believe the Packers just need to win their last two home games to win the division for a fifth straight year and get a home playoff game. From there anything can happen. For now we have ten days to enjoy this glorious victory.
Go Pack go!