5. Packers 27, Lions 23 (2015)

Mention the name Richard Rodgers to any Detroit Lions fan and it might ruin his or her day. Green Bay was on a free-fall, having lost four of five after starting out 6-0. After that start, the Packers were 7-4 and there was thinking that maybe they were not going to make the playoffs. The Packers were on the verge of falling out of the division race as well, as they were a game back of the Vikings and were going nowhere fast. Green Bay was looking for revenge on Detroit as the Packers lost in Wisconsin against the Lions three weeks before for the first time since 1991. It looked like it would not get any better for the Green and Gold, as the Motor City Kitties jumped out to a 20-0 third quarter lead. But the Packers stormed back and scored 27 of the game’s final 30 points and won on the most unlikely of finishes. After a controversial penalty gave Green Bay one final chance, Aaron Rodgers launched it as far as he could and Richard Rodgers caught it in the end zone for the 61-yard Hail Mary touchdown to give the Packers the 27-23 win and breathe new life into the team as they started the final month of the season.

The first quarter was an absolute disaster for the Packers. Each team had possession three full times in the quarter. Green Bay had one punt and a turnover. Detroit, on the other hand, scored on each of its three first quarter drives. The Lions led 17-0 after the first quarter and the game appeared over. However, the Packers defense would hold the Lions to six points in the final three quarters to give Green Bay a chance.

On Detroit’s first possession, the offense drove 35 yards in seven plays and Matt Prater booted through a 51-yard field goal. Following a Packers three-and-out, the Lions traveled 76 yards for the first touchdown of the night. Ameer Adullah had a 36-yard run to move the Lions to the 11. Three plays later, Matthew Stafford found tight end Eric Ebron for a 3-yard touchdown and the Lions opened up a 10-0 lead.

Detroit was not done, though. On Green Bay’s second play following the kickoff, Rodgers tried to hit James Jones down the field, but it was picked off by Glover Quin and it was returned to the Green Bay 17. It did not take long for Detroit to capitalize. The first play following the turnover, Stafford found Calvin Johnson for a 17-yard score and the Lions had a commanding 17-0 lead and it was not even the end of the first quarter yet. With how bad both the Packers offense and defense looked, most people thought the game was over.

In the second quarter, the Packers defense picked it up. Detroit had four possessions in the second quarter and only managed one first down, and that was with a minute and a half left in the quarter. However, the Green Bay offense still could not get much going. On the first drive of the quarter, Crosby missed a 41-yard field goal and in the other three drives, the Packers had two three-and-outs and never reached midfield on any of the final three possessions. The score remained 17-0 at the half.

Detroit received the kickoff to open the second quarter and would proceed to drive 66 yards in 11 plays to kick a field goal to give the Lions a 20-0 with less than nine minutes to go in the third quarter. The Packers gained confidence from keeping Detroit out of the end zone, and it would be a turning point in the game.

The Packers would proceed to score two touchdowns in less than two minutes to get right back in the game. Green Bay would travel 75 yards in seven plays to cut the deficit to 10. Facing another three-and-out, Aaron Rodgers would find Richard Rodgers for 26 yards on a 3rd-and-10 to move into Lions territory. James Starks would also catch a pass for 25 yards down to the 3. That set up the touchdown on the next play. Rodgers handed it off to Starks, who fumbled into the end zone. But Randall Cobb was there to recover the loose ball in the end zone for the Packers touchdown to cut it to 20-7 with less than six minutes to play in the third quarter.

On the first play after the kickoff for Detroit, Julius Peppers wanted in on the comeback fun. Stafford went back to throw and Peppers knocked the ball out of Stafford’s hand and Jake Ryan recovered for the Packers at the 12. Three plays later, the Green and Gold cut into the deficit even further. On a 3rd-and-6 from the 8, Rodgers threw a pass over the middle to Davante Adams for the touchdown and just like that, it went from 20-0 to 20-14. Game on in Detroit!

After a few punts, Detroit had a big drive to give the Lions a lead by two scores. Detroit had a 34-yard drive in 12 plays to give the Lions the 23-14 lead. Detroit converted a third down and a fourth down on the drive. On the fourth down play, Stafford found Golden Tate for four yards and a first down. The drive would stall at the Packers 24 and Prater would nail a 42-yard field goal.

Green Bay would come back down to score a touchdown on its next drive on an 84-yard drive in 11 plays to cut it to 23-21. When faced with a 3rd-and-11 from the 17, Rodgers went back to pass and found a lot of room and ran down the left sideline for the 17-yard touchdown to cut it back down to one score.

The defense was faced with needing to force a three-and-out or risk having virtually no time remaining. After bleeding Green Bay of its remaining two timeouts, Detroit was faced with a 3rd-and-12 at its own 18 with a little less than three minutes to play in the game. Stafford went back to pass and found T.J. Jones for 29 yards to the Detroit 47 for the first down. At this point, most thought the game was over. The Lions ran three times and punted and the Packers would start at their own 21 with less than 30 seconds to play.

Green Bay’s first two passes were incomplete, which set up a third down with six seconds on the clock. On the play, Rodgers found Jones up the seam, who then threw it back to Richard Rodgers, who tossed it back to Aaron Rodgers back inside the 25. Aaron Rodgers was tackled at the 24, but flags were thrown on the tackle. The officials called a controversial facemask penalty on the Lions. The defender’s hand pulled Rodgers’ facemask slightly, but with the hand on the facemask and the helmet pulled to the side, there was no way the refs were not going to call that. So the Packers had one more chance. They had an untimed down to try to pull off a miracle.

On the play, Rodgers was out of the shotgun and had three receivers to the right and two to the left. Despite the fact that the Lions only rushed three, they were able to get some pressure on the quarterback. Rodgers rolled to the right and launched a prayer into the end zone. For some reason, a pair of Lions were hanging around midfield and no Packers receiver was within 40 yards of them. Rodgers heaved it and it was so high that it almost hit the rafters at Ford Field. The ball came down to a crowd of players. Richard Rodgers was boxing out Detroit defenders on the play and he was able to grab the ball when it came down for the miraculous game-winner. Green Bay was left for dead in the first half, but showed fight and were able to have a season-saving moment.

The win jump-started a three-game winning streak that put the Packers at 10-4 going into the final two weeks of the season. The play won ‘Best play’ at the ESPY’s this summer.