Top 20 current coaches who have yet to make a Final Four

With Gonzaga’s Mark Few and Oregon’s Dana Altman finally making their first Final Four appearance, this takes out two of the top coaches to never make it that far. Because of that, it got me thinking about which are the top current coaches who have yet to make it to the Final Four, so I have decided to make a top 20 coaches list.

Honorable Mention:

Steve Alford, UCLA (559-278): 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, four Sweet 16 appearances
Tim Cluess, Iona (260-101): Four NCAA Tournament appearances, three conference championships
Greg Gard, Wisconsin (42-18): Two Sweet 16 appearances in two seasons as head coach
Billy Kennedy, Texas A&M (326-264): Three NCAA Tournament appearances, one Sweet 16
Dave Rose, BYU (305-111): Eight NCAA Tournament appearances, One Sweet 16 appearance

20. Larry Krystkowiak, Utah (154-105, four NCAA Tournament appearances, one Sweet 16)

When Krystkowiak took over the Utes, the program had only one NCAA Tournament appearance in six years. He came over from the New Jersey Nets and had two rough years to start his Utes coaching career, going 21-43, including a woeful 8-28 conference record. But since then, he has resurrected the program. He has won at least 20 games each of the last four seasons, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament. I would have a hard time putting him higher on the list since he has only really had four quality seasons since his days at Montana, where he led the Golden Grizzlies to back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths.

19. Bryce Drew, Vanderbilt (143-65, 3 NCAA Tournament appearances)

Drew had a decent start to his high-major coaching career, leading the Commodores to the NCAA Tournament. His record was an average 19-16, but once he gets his players on the team, his record will only improve. The NCAA Tournament hero from his days with the Valparaiso Crusaders led his alma mater to two trips to the Big Dance and a regular season Horizon League championship in four of his five years there. He was a hot coaching candidate prior to the 2016-17 season and once he gets his players on campus, watch out, SEC!

18. Mike White, Florida (149-64, one Elite 8 appearance)

White was a great coach at Louisiana Tech before following Billy Donovan at the University of Florida. He won their conference the last three years, but could not break through and get them into the NCAA Tournament. After a 27-9 season in 2014-15, White left Ruston, Louisiana, to take the job in Gainesville. His first year with the Gators was solid, but unspectacular with a record of 21-15 and a trip to the NIT. However, this past year, he led Florida to a 27-9 record, which was good enough for second place in the SEC and a No. 4 seed. The Gators led South Carolina in the Elite 8 at halftime, but could not hold the lead and White still is searching for his first trip to the Final Four. That could come sooner rather than later.

17. Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa (234-134, four NCAA Tournament appearances, one Sweet 16)

Jacobson is a bit interesting. He has had some great years with the Panthers, but then has had a number of mediocre ones as well. Despite all his success, he has only two conference championships and none since 2010. Northern Iowa missed the tournament this year after back-to-back trips to the Big Dance. He would have made another Sweet 16 trip last year if not for one of the biggest late game collapses in the college basketball history. The Sweet 16 trip made during his tenure was highlighted by a huge upset of Kansas in the second round. He has had opportunities to go to major conference programs, but is content in Cedar Falls for the time being.

16. Randy Bennett, St. Mary’s (364-157, 6 NCAA Tournament appearances, one Sweet 16)

It has to be tough to be Bennett. He has run a consistently good program in the West Coast Conference, but is always overshadowed by Gonzaga. He has led the Gaels to 10 consecutive 20-win seasons, including eight of which he has led them to at least 25 wins. But even with that success, they have only made the tournament five times in those 10 years, mostly due to the Zags. When Bennett arrived in 2001, he inherited a program that went 2-27, and has turned it into one of top mid-major programs in the country. Led by big man Omar Samhan and guards Mickey McConnell and Matthew Dellavedova, the Gaels made the Sweet 16 in 2010, knocking off No. 2 Villanova in the second round. Like many other mid-major coaches, he has had chances to take higher profile jobs, but has stayed committed to the Gaels.

15. Scott Drew, Baylor (279-178, 7 NCAA Tournament appearances, two Sweet 16s, two Elite 8s)

Now, I do believe Drew is very overrated. He has become the new John Thompson III in the NCAA Tournament. He always has high seeded teams in March, but always gets bounced early come tournament time. After an Elite 8 appearance in both 2010 and 2012, Drew has never made it that far since. The last three years, the Bears have lost to a 14, a 12 and seven seed in the tournament and were not seeded lower than fifth in any of the three years. Eventually, you’d think he will break through. He deserves plenty of credit for turning the program around after the scandal in Waco in 2003. Drew is the winningest coach in the history of the program and has led the Bears to more than half of their NCAA Tournament berths all-time.

14. Mark Turgeon, Maryland (386-226, eight NCAA Tournament appearances, two Sweet 16s)

In the Big Ten, Turgeon has overachieved when expectations were low and underachieved when they were high. However, Maryland has finished in the top three each year the Terps have been in the conference. In their last three years in the ACC, Maryland did not finish above .500 in any of them. His career at Maryland was preceeded by successful stints at Wichita State and Texas A&M, in which he made the Big Dance in five of his last six years. However, other than Wichita State making the Sweet 16 in 2006, Turgeon’s teams had failed to make it past the first weekend. Melo Trimble helped Turgeon in Maryland’s first three years in the new conference, but it will be interesting to see what happens now that Trimble is off to the NBA.

13. Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech (206-134, six NCAA Tournament appearances, two Sweet 16s, one Elite 8)

After a successful stint with Marquette, Williams is getting something started in Blacksburg. Prior to 2017, Virginia Tech had not made the NCAA Tournament since 2007 and that was the only tournament appearance for the Hokies since they moved to a major conference in 2000. Under James Johnson, Virginia Tech had only 22 wins combined in his two seasons. It took Williams just two seasons to reach the 20-win mark and just three seasons to reach the Big Dance. Prior to Virginia Tech, Williams made the NCAA Tournament in five of his six years with Marquette. In those five years, he made the Sweet 16 twice and Elite 8 once. Buzz will continue to improve the Hokies and will be a player in the ACC soon.

12. Chris Holtmann (114-85, three NCAA Tournament appearances, one Sweet 16)

Holtmann turned around the program at Gardner-Webb before being hired at Butler. He could be a fast riser on this list (if he doesn’t erase his name from it). Following two good seasons at Butler taking over for Brad Stevens, he led the Bulldogs to a 25-9 record and a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the program’s highest seed ever. It is even more impressive considering Butler was predicted to be sixth in the conference, but ended up finishing second. Of those 25 wins, two of them came against defending National Champion Villanova.

11. Brad Underwood, Illinois (109-27, four NCAA Tournament appearances)

Underwood has had a fast rise to the top, as he just became a head coach in 2013. After an impressive 89-14 record with Stephen F. Austin, including an incredible 53-1 record in conference, he took a job with Oklahoma State and led the Cowboys to a 20-13 record and an NCAA Tournament berth. The 20 wins were an eight win improvement over 2015-16. Following the season, he took a job with Illinois, trying to get the Illini to the Big Dance for the first time since 2013. The state of Illinois is loaded with terrific basketball talent, so the opportunity is there for Underwood to make a splash.

10. Mick Cronin, Cincinnati (306-159, nine NCAA Tournament appearances, one Sweet 16)

Cronin started his coaching career with Murray State and led the Racers to an impressive 69-24 record in his three seasons, including a pair of berths in the Big Dance. He then returned to coach his alma mater and quickly turned around Cincinnati after a rough first two years. The Bearcats have won at least 20 games the last seven seasons and at least 12 in conference play in the last four seasons. Unfortunately, though, he has only been able to make it past the first weekend once. Much like Scott Drew, Cronin has been so successful in the regular season that you’d think he’d make a tournament run eventually.

9. Bruce Pearl, Auburn (506-199, eight NCAA Tournament appearances, three Sweet 16s, one Elite 8)

Pearl’s record has taken a bit of a hit the last few years, as he took over the Auburn program and has not had the success that was expected when he was hired. In his first job in Division I with Milwaukee, he led the Panthers to two NCAA Tournament appearances in his four seasons. In his last year there, he led them to the Sweet 16 as a No. 12 seed. He took a job with Tennessee and promptly took the Vols to the Big Dance in all six of his seasons. In those six years, he led them to a pair of Sweet 16s and an Elite 8. He was one point away from making the Final Four, losing by one point to Michigan State in 2010. He was fired after an NCAA investigation involving former Ohio State guard Aaron Craft, but came back with Auburn in 2014. However, he improved the team to a 18-14, its best record since 2008-09.

8. Steve Prohm, Iowa State (151-52, three NCAA Tournament appearances, one Sweet 16)

Like Cronin, Prohm also started his coaching career at Murray State. And like Cronin, he was very successful with the Racers. He had an impressive record of 104-29 in his four seasons there before taking over for Fred Hoiberg at Iowa State and the program has not skipped a beat. He has a 47-23 record for the Cyclones in his first two years and the lowest seed he has had is a five. He made the Sweet 16 in his first year. Even with the Big 12 being arguably the toughest conference in the country, Iowa State is in very good hands with Prohm.

7. Archie Miller, Indiana (139-63, four NCAA Tournament appearances, one Elite 8)

Miller decided to make the leap to a big conference after spending his first six years as the head coach at Dayton. In his last four years with the Flyers, Dayton has had at least 24 wins and made the NCAA Tournament each year. In 2014, he took his team to the Elite 8 before losing to the overall No. 1 seed Florida. He has not made it past the first weekend since then, but after moving to Indiana, he will have all the resources in order for him to be successful. The last two successful coaches at Dayton who left did not fare so well, so he will have an opportunity to break that trend.

6. Jamie Dixon, TCU (352-138, 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, two Sweet 16s, one Elite 8)

Most of Dixon’s success came early on at Pittsburgh, where he had at least 25 wins in seven of his first eight years, but still no Final Four. He made it to the Sweet 16 twice and to the Elite 8 once. He was a Scottie Reynolds runner in the paint away from advancing to the Final Four in 2009. However, following that year, Pittsburgh never made it past the first weekend the rest of Dixon’s tenure. That included a No. 1 seed in 2011 and losing in the second round to Butler. Still, he has only failed to lead a team to at least 20 once in his coaching career. That includes one season with perennial bottom feeder TCU. Following the 2015-16 season, Dixon took a job with his alma mater and led the program to its most wins in a single season since 1997-98. The Horned Frogs were picked to finish dead last in the Big 12 preseason poll and finished seventh in perhaps the toughest conference in college basketball. To put a feather in his cap on the season, TCU won the NIT championship. Dixon needed to make this list based on him leading TCU to this type of season alone. He could turn his alma mater into a real tough out in the conference.

5. Matt Painter, Purdue (290-147, 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, three Sweet 16s)

Painter has had tremendous regular season success (has finished in the top three eight of 13 seasons in the Big Ten), but has not been able to get past the Sweet 16. He has made the NCAA Tournament 10 times, but when he has made the Sweet 16, his Boilermakers have lost by an average of 19 points per game. This year, Painter made it past the first weekend for the first time since 2010. This resume looks similar to Bo Ryan before he made the Final Four in 2014. Prior to making the Final Four, Ryan made 12 NCAA appearances with four Sweet 16s and an Elite 8. There still is hope for Painter, but he needs to advance far in the tournament sooner rather than later.

4. Chris Mack, Xavier (187-91, seven NCAA Tournament appearances, three Sweet 16s, one Elite 8)

In his first eight years with the Muskateers, he has led them to the Big Dance seven times. Of those seven times making the dance, Xavier has made it past the first weekend four times. They made a nice run this year as a No. 11 seed, making it to the Elite 8 despite losing star guard Edmond Sumner halfway through the season. It remains to be seen whether he wants to go to an ACC or Big Ten or Pac 12 school, but Xavier has produced some good ones from Skip Prosser to Thad Matta to Sean Miller. He is a star in the coaching profession and I think it is just a matter of time before he reaches the biggest stage in the sport.

3. Mike Brey, Notre Dame (482-239, 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, one Sweet 16, two Elite 8s)

Other than 2014-15, Brey has not had any *great* teams, but consistently has been very good. He has made the NCAA Tournament in nine of the last 11 years, making the Elite 8 twice. But, like all the others on this list, he has struggled when it counts the most. Prior to the two consecutive trips to the Elite 8, he had only made it past the first weekend once in his first 14 years with the school. He was very close in 2015, almost handing Kentucky its first loss of the season in the Elite 8. Brey is a very good coach who has a few more runs at the Final Four in him.

2. Tony Bennett, Virginia (257-116, seven NCAA Tournament appearances, two Sweet 16s, one Elite 8)

After taking over for his father, Dick Bennett, Tony led the Washington State Cougars to two consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances after not going to the dance since 1994. He also led the Cougars to their first NCAA win since 1983. Washington State has not gone back to the dance since Bennett left for Virginia in 2009. After missing the tournament in three of his first four years with the Cavaliers, he has turned the program into a national power. He led the Cavs to back-to-back 30 win seasons to go along with the two conference championships. From 2014-2016, Virginia had a one seed twice and a two seed once. In 2016, Virginia seemingly was destined for the Final Four. After dispatching No. 4 Iowa State in the Sweet 16, all that stood in their way was No. 10 Syracuse. Virginia looked poised to break through as it led by 14 at the break, but collapsed down the stretch and lost 68-62. After that, it makes you wonder if he will ever get to the sport’s biggest stage. He is one of college basketball’s best coaches, but he may have let his best opportunity slip through his fingers.

1. Sean Miller, Arizona (340-113, 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, three Sweet 16s, four Elite 8s)

If you were to make a list of the top 10 current college basketball coaches, Miller would be on it, no question. In his eight years with the Wildcats, he has won the conference four times, including three of the last four years. He has also won at least 30 games five times in his career (four at Arizona, one at Xavier). That 2014-15 team was probably his best team, but Arizona could not stop Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker. They may have been the second or third best team in the country that year, but Wisconsin was a terrible matchup for them. As a matter of fact, Miller would have a pair of Final Fours if it weren’t for Kaminsky. Going to four Elite 8s without one win is just bad luck. It is only a matter of when and not if he makes it to a Final Four. He is too good of a coach not to. Making it past the first weekend seven of the last 10 seasons and not getting to the Final Four has been tough.

As always, feel free to rip away if you disagree...

Dear Selection committee, time to give mid-majors more love

It is that time of year once again. With Selection Sunday in four days, it is time once again for me to complain about the love for the power conference schools instead of giving at-large spots to deserving mid-major schools.

First off, and I have said this from day one: an NCAA Tournament appearance should be a reward for a terrific season. I would much rather see a mid-major team that had 25 wins over a major conference school that ended the regular season with 19 or 20 wins. Is 20 wins a real accomplishment for power schools? Fans from said power schools and members of the selection committee will always point to the RPI and take it as gospel. The RPI is due to playing in a power conference and many really good mid-majors cannot schedule top teams unless the teams have a traditional game (such as Wisconsin and Green Bay) or a connection (Green Bay/Virginia played due to Tony Bennett connection). Unless it is a perennial top mid-major team like Gonzaga or Wichita State, it would be a lose-lose scenario for the power school. That hurts a mid-major’s RPI by not being able to schedule top notch teams. That hurts when the committee looks at record RPI vs. top 50 or top 100 teams. Many good mid-majors are not able to schedule many teams that fit that criteria.

As a mid-major, you cannot have an off day. There is virtually no margin for error. But, more often than not, even great mid-major teams slip up. The team may have a bad shooting game or the opponent may just catch fire, but the committee sees that as a black eye. If that happens against a power conference school, it does not hurt as much since their RPI is much better than some random school from the Ohio Valley or Summit or Horizon.

Since it still bothers me to this day and this one hits close, I was looking at some stats for the 2014 NCAA Tournament. As a graduate of Green Bay, I will use the Phoenix as an example. Green Bay was 24-5 on the year. Two of those losses came to Wisconsin (which went to the Final Four that year and Green Bay lost by one score) and Harvard, one of the best mid-major teams (it was close until the closing minutes). One of the losses was an ugly one to Eastern Michigan and one was to hot-shooting Milwaukee, while the other was to Valparaiso in which Alec Brown was out. Among the wins, the Phoenix knocked off the eventual ACC champ, Virginia.

North Carolina State finished the regular season and conference tournament with a record of 21-13, and made the tournament as the final seed in the dance. NC State was a few spots ahead in the RPI and Green Bay had a slight advantage in BPI and KenPom. The Wolfpack had eight games against the RPI top 25.....and won a single game, while Green Bay went 1-1 in such games. Against teams in the RPI top 100, NC State was 6-10, while Green Bay was 4-3. The two teams also had two common opponents: Virginia and Detroit. The Phoenix went 3-0 against those teams, while NC State went 1-1, including a 31-point pounding in Raleigh against UVA. To this day, I think there is no way the Wolfpack should have made it over the Phoenix, but North Carolina State gets preferential treatment due to being in the ACC.

Now, back to this year. How in the world are teams like Illinois and Wake Forest still in contention for an NCAA Tournament berth? The Illini are 18-13 and the Demon Deacons are 19-12. Are we really going to reward mediocrity like that? Illinois State, on the other hand, finished 27-6. Sure, the strength of schedule in 155, but part of that is due to the fact that the Ohio Valley is down as a conference this year. Still, a 27-win season is a damn good season for the Redbirds and I would much rather see them in the field than Illinois or Wake Forest or Syracuse. Same with Middle Tennessee. Obviously, they are still involved the Conference USA Tournament, but if they were to lose, the Blue Raiders would be on the bubble. They might still get in, but it would be close. Same goes with UT-Arlington if the Mavericks were to lose in the Sun Belt Tournament.

It does not happen often, and I know the selection committee would never ask for my opinion, but I will always defend the mid-major. It is a shame that some of the best mid-majors don’t go to the tournament due to their opponent in the conference tournament getting hot and losing and not being able to go in as an at-large. Look at VCU and George Mason, for instance. Both were at-large mid-major teams that proved their worth in the tournament. I guess we will all found out in four days.

1. Packers 31, Steelers 25 (2011)

There was no other choice to be No. 1. After 14 years, the Green Bay Packers were finally back on top of the football world. The Packers were the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs and won three consecutive games away from Lambeau Field, knocking off the top three seeds in the NFC. Pittsburgh was the No. 2 seed in the AFC and benefitted from an upset loss by the top seed New England Patriots to the New York Jets in the divisional round. The Steelers would host the Jets in the AFC Championship game and won 24-19 to meet the Packers in the Super Bowl. The Packers would end the season with 15 players on injured reserve. Despite being the No. 6 seed and making the playoffs on the last week of the regular season, many people picked Green Bay to win in Texas. That feeling was shared by Vegas, as the Packers were favored by three points. The Steelers had won the Super Bowl in both 2006 and 2009 and people wondered if that experience would be a huge factor in the game. It was the opposite throughout most of the first half, as Green Bay had a 21-3 lead late in the first half. Pittsburgh would cut it to 21-17 and were on the move to take the lead or cut it further, but the Green Bay defense held. The Packers defense would hold again on the final drive of the game and the Packers would bring home their fourth Super Bowl championship.

Both teams punted on their first possession of the game, but the Packers took over on their own 20 with just over eight minutes to go in the first half. The first three plays gained a total of 26 yards and Green Bay was already knocking on Pittsburgh’s territorial door. A 14-yard completion to Brandon Jackson moved the Packers inside the Steelers 40. Three plays later, Green Bay scored the first points of the Super Bowl. Facing a 3rd-and-1, Aaron Rodgers would throw a pass into the end zone down the right sideline for Jordy Nelson. The Packers wide receiver caught it against Pittsburgh cornerback William Gay and Green Bay took the lead 7-0 with less than four minutes to play in the first half.

The Packers would not be done in the first quarter. Not by a long shot. It did not take long for the Green and Gold to take the lead by two scores. Pittsburgh returned the kickoff to the 14, but there was a penalty that knocked the Steelers back to their own 7 to start the next drive. Then, on the first play of the drive, Ben Roethlisberger went back to pass and pumped faked. That pump fake by Big Ben allowed Green Bay defensive tackle Howard Green to come in and hit the Steelers quarterback. Roethlisberger wound up to throw deep to speedy wide receiver Mike Wallace down the left sideline. But Green hit Big Ben’s arm as he was throwing and the ball was woefully short of the intended target. That is where Packers safety Nick Collins gave a 14-0 lead. Collins, who was playing center field on the play, had a beat on the Roethlisberger pass and came over and picked off the pass at the 37. He would run down the right sideline to the 20, where he cut it back to elude a Steeler and would would run inside the 5 and leap into the end zone for the score and the Packers took a 14-0 lead with three and a half minutes to play in the first quarter. It would remain 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, but Pittsburgh was on the move as the game moved to the second.

On the final play of the first quarter, the Steelers faced a huge 3rd-and-9 from midfield. Pittsburgh cold not afford to kick it back to the Packers, already trailing by 14. Roethlisberger went back to pass and stepped up and found all kinds of running room. The big quarterback would run all the way down to the Green Bay 32 for the 18-yard run to move the sticks. Pittsburgh converted a third down and long on a pass to Emmanuel Sanders, but then the Steelers would have to settle for a field goal on the drive and the Packers led 14-3 with less than 12 minutes left in the half.

Pittsburgh was gaining momentum after its defense forced a Green Bay punt on the following possession. On the third down play before the Packers punt, Donald Driver had to sit out the rest of the game with an ankle sprain. Pittsburgh followed that up with gaining a pair of first downs to move into Packers territory. However, on a 2nd-and-11 at the Green Bay 49, Roethlisberger threw it over the middle and it was intercepted by Jarrett Bush and the Packers took over on their own 47. The Green and Gold were tremendous lucky on the play, as Pittsburgh tight end Heath Miller was wide open down the left sideline and possibly would have scored. I don’t think Big Ben expected Bush to be there, which is why the ball was thrown.

Green Bay wasted little time taking advantage of the second turnover by the Steelers. The Packers needed just four plays to travel the 53 yards to give the Green and Gold a 21-3 lead. The drive would end on a Rodgers touchdown pass to Greg Jennings from 21 yards out. Rodgers threw a perfect pass to Jennings over the middle and the Packers wide receiver caught it before getting hit hard and the Packers had a 21-3 lead with two and a half minutes left in the first half.

Pittsburgh was able to get a monster score at the end of the half. After the kickoff, Roethlisberger found an open Antwaan Randel El for 37 yards down to the Green Bay 40. On the following play, the Packers lost another leader. On a deep pass down the left sideline, Green Bay’s Charles Woodson dove to break up a pass at the goal line, but he would break his collarbone in the process. Just like during the season, the Packers had key injuries, but would overcome them. Big Ben would convert another third down on a pass to Hines Ward to move Pittsburgh inside the 30. He would also connect with Ward again in the end zone on an 8-yard score in the final minute for a monster touchdown to cut the deficit to 21-10 at halftime.

The Steelers rode the momentum from the first half into the second half, as Pittsburgh forced a three-and-out on Green Bay’s first drive of the third quarter. On the third down play, Rodgers threw a strike to James Jones, but he dropped it. Jones would have been off to the races and it may have been a touchdown. But instead, the Packers had to punt. The punt was returned to the 35 and a face mask on Tom Crabtree put the ball at midfield. Pittsburgh needed just five plays to travel the 50 yards and make it a game. All five plays were runs and former Illinois standout Rashard Mendenhall was the touchdown scorer. He ran in from eight yards and the Steelers had stormed back to cut it to four.

Pittsburgh’s confidence only grew, as the Steelers forced another three-and-out by the Green Bay offense and the Steelers took over at their own 40 after the punt. Pittsburgh would drive inside the Packers 35, but the drive would stall and Shaun Suisham would miss the field goal attempt and the score remained 21-17. The score would remain 21-17 until the fourth quarter.

At the end of the third quarter, the Steelers forced a Packers punt from deep in their own territory. It was a short punt by Tim Masthay and the Steelers started with the ball at the Green Bay 41. On the last play of the quarter, Mendenhall ran for eight down to the 33.

There is always one signature play in a Super Bowl that people can say turned the tide or won the game for a team. It isn’t necessarily always a scoring play, and in this case, it was not. On the second down play on the first play of the fourth quarter, Mendenhall received the handoff. He was met in the backfield by the Packers duo of linebacker Clay Matthews and defensive end Ryan Pickett. The ball would pop out and it would be recovered by Desmond Bishop for the Packers and he would return it to the Green Bay 45.

The Packers would not let this great field position go to waste. The Packers returned to the field with more focused a re-newed swagger. Facing a 3rd-and-10 on the Steelers 40, Rodgers threw a dart over the middle to Jordy Nelson. The receiver ran from right to left on the slant and ran down the left sideline for 38 yards down to the Green Bay 2. Following a sack on first down, Rodgers found a wide open Jennings in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown to give the Packers a 28-17 lead with 12 minutes to go in the Super Bowl.

But back came the Steelers. Pittsburgh drove 66 yards in seven plays to cut the deficit to three. Roethlisberger threw on every single play on the drive and the Packers would not even make the Steelers face a third down until the touchdown play. On a 2nd-and-18, Roethlisberger would hit Ward for 15 to set up a more manageable 3rd-and-3. That would be when Big Ben connected with an open Wallace down the left sideline for the score to cut it to 28-23. The two-point conversion attempt was also successful on a run from Randel El and the Steelers fought back to make it 28-25.

With Green Bay facing a 3rd-and-10 on the following drive, Rodgers needed to make a play. They called the play that had worked so well throughout the game. The Packers quarterback took the snap and threw it over the middle to Jennings for 31 yards to the Steelers 44. The coverage was terrific by Pittsburgh, but there is no defense for a perfect throw. That would set up a field goal by Crosby and the Packers took a 31-25 lead.

Green Bay needed one final stop to win the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh had to travel 87 yards to score the touchdown. It was a similar situation to the one against Arizona in the Super Bowl two years prior. Roethlisberger found Miller open over the middle for 15 yards to move up to the 27. But three plays only got five yards, so the Steelers faced a 4th-and-5 from the 32. Roethlisberger’s pass would be knocked away by Tramon Williams, who had a monster post-season. That gave the Packers the win.

As Wayne Larrivee said, “The title is back in town.” Green Bay finally was able to break through and win the big one. It was a tremendous feeling. The road to Super Bowl LI begins tomorrow at Jacksonville!

2. Packers 21, Bears 14 (2011)

In the storied rivalry between these two great franchises, no meeting had ever meant more than this one. The rivals were meeting in the NFC Championship game and a Super Bowl berth was on the line. The game time of the basketball game between the Wisconsin Badgers and Northwestern Wildcats would be moved up a half an hour so people could watch the championship game following the basketball one. The teams met in the last week of the regular season with Green Bay winning 10-3 to punch its ticket to get into the playoffs. In this matchup, the Packers were able to move out to a two touchdown lead, but they would have to hold on as Chicago’s third-string quarterback Caleb Hanie was trying to lead the Bears to the comeback victory. However, with less than a minute to play in the game, Hanie threw a pick to Sam Shields and Green Bay made the trip South to play in Super Bowl XLV.

The game could not have started much better for the Packers. Green Bay blew down the field on its opening drive, needing just seven plays to go 84 yards. Three of Green Bay’s first five plays went for more than 20 yards, so it looked like the Packers’ offense would dominate the game. The first two plays went for a total of 48 yards to Greg Jennings to move to the Bears 36. Green Bay did not face a third down on the drive and Aaron Rodgers would score on a touchdown run from a yard out to give the Packers the early 7-0 lead. It would stay that way until the second quarter, Chicago only would have one first down in its two first quarter drives.

On the first drive of the second quarter, the Packers started with tremendous field position at the Chicago 44 after the Green Bay defense forced a Bears three-and-out from deep in their own territory. The Packers would travel the 44 yards in five plays. On 2nd-and-13, Rodgers dumped it off to Brandon Jackson for 16 yards to move to the Chicago 31. That would be the first of three consecutive plays that resulted in a first down. The last one was a 15-yard pass to Nelson to move to the Chicago 4. On the very next play, James Starks ran it in from four yards out and the Green and Gold had a 14-0 advantage less than four minutes into the second quarter.

Green Bay dominated the first half and had chances to run away with the game in the second quarter. In all three of the Packers second quarter possessions and five of the six first half drives, Green Bay entered Chicago territory. However, they only scored 14 points in those five drives. The only possession that did not enter Bears territory was a drive that ended at their own 47. The Packers were threatening to take a lead by three scores late in the second quarter, but on a first down pass from the Chicago 41, Rodgers threw a pass low to Donald Driver. The ball went off of Driver’s foot and into the hands of Lance Briggs for the Bears interception.

However, Santa Cutler would give a present right back. After a 17-yard completion from Cutler to Matt Forte, Green Bay would take the ball right back. On the first down play from the Packers 42, the Bears quarterback went for it all. He launched a pass down the left sideline to the goal line intended for Johnny Knox, but it was picked off by Shields and the Packers would take over with a half minute remaining in the first half.The play was reviewed and upheld and Green Bay would take a 14-0 lead into the break.

It was an odd second half, with both teams having plenty of chances to score and the Bears had to go to their backup quarterbacks after Cutler had to leave the game. Still, the Green and Gold had to be disappointed the score was only 14-0 after the Packers basically lived on the Bears side of the field in the first half.

The game was still in doubt early in the second half, but after the first drive of the third quarter, Cutler had to leave the game with a knee injury. The report came in the days following the game that it was a torn MCL. On his last drive, the Bears offense went three-and-out and Green Bay took over at its own 17.

Green Bay then went on a drive that most people thought would seal the game. On a third down from the 19, Rodgers found Nelson for 21 yards up to the 40. That was followed with a pass to Jennings for 20. Three plays later, Chicago was whistled for a pass interference inside the 10 and Green Bay had the ball 1st-and-Goal at the 8. Two plays gained two yards, so the Packers were faced with a third down at the 6. The Packers had a field goal in the bag if they did not turn the ball over, but Rodgers would make his first mistake of the game. Rodgers had solid protection and threw it over the middle to Driver. However, Rodgers did not see Chicago’s star linebacker Brian Urlacher. The Bears star picked off the pass and was running down the field and had a chance to go the distance. It was a footrace between Urlacher and Rodgers, who had an angle on him. At around the Chicago 40, Urlacher tried to cut inside and outrun Rodgers to the end zone. But Rodgers got just enough of Urlacher to trip him up at the 45. That would turn out to be a key play by the Packers quarterback.

With backup quarterback Todd Collins in the game, replacing Cutler, Chicago was in trouble. Collins was in for two drives for the Bears, and he went 0-for-4 passing with a near interception and Chicago drove a total of three yards. He, too, left the game with an injury, as he injured his shoulder. So that left the Bears with just third-stringer Caleb Hanie. In the regular season, Hanie appeared in two games, completing 5-of-7 passes for 55 yards. With the Bears down to their No. 3 quarterback, most people thought that this game was over. Chicago could not score any points with Cutler under center, so it’d be impossible to score any with Hanie, right? Wrong.

Early in the final period Hanie got the Bears on the board. Chicago moved 67 yards in eight plays to score its first points of the day and cut the deficit to 14-7 on a Chester Taylor run from a yard out. The big play of the drive was a 32-yard pass from Hanie to Knox down to the Packers 1 on a 2nd-and-13. That was immediately followed by the Taylor score. Game on in Chicago!

Three straight punts followed and the Bears had the ball, starting at their own 10 with a little more than seven minutes remaining. Two plays gained five yards, so Chicago was faced with a 3rd-and-5 from the 15. That was when the most unlikely player made the biggest play of the game. Second-year defensive lineman B.J. Raji dropped back into coverage on the play and Hanie never saw him. The Chicago quarterback dropped back to pass and threw it over the middle intended for Forte, but the big nose tackle was right in his path. The pass went right to Raji, who ran it back for the 18-yard pick six and the Packers had their two score lead back with 6:04 to play. Following the pick, Raji did a dance and then put on the ‘Rodgers belt.’ Green Bay seemingly had control of the game with a 21-7 lead.

As Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast my friend.” Hanie would lead the Bears quickly down the field, driving 60 yards in just four plays to cut the deficit to 21-14 with just under four minutes to play in the game. The touchdown was scored on a 35-yard pass from Hanie to the open Earl Bennett down the left sideline.

After a punt by the Packers, the Bears had one final chance to tie the game up and send it into overtime. Chicago started the drive at its own 29 with less than three minutes to play. The Bears would convert a fourth down to move into Green Bay territory with a minute and a half to play and two timeouts remaining. The Bears would move down inside the 30, but on a 3rd-and-3, Bennett was given the ball on a run and he was stopped for a loss of two. That would set up one final play for the Bears to try to keep the game alive. Hanie dropped back to pass and threw it over the middle and it was picked off by Shields, who would run it up to the Chicago 44 before being brought down to put the final nail in the coffin and send the Packers to Texas for Super Bowl XLV.

After beating your rival in the championship game, there was no way you can lose the Super Bowl, right? Well, Green Bay went to Texas and got it done, bringing back the Lombardi Trophy. When you mention Raji’s name, this is the first play that pops into your head. Even though he retired this offseason, he made a huge impact in helping the Packers bring championship No. 13 back to Titletown.

3. Packers 19, Broncos 13 (OT) (2007)

This may be too high for some people, but this moment is one of the all-time best moments in the career of Brett Favre. Green Bay was 5-1 and coming off a bye week, while Denver was 3-3 and coming off a big home win against Pittsburgh. Green Bay was struggling to run the ball, but would find answers in this game in the form of Ryan Grant. Ted Thompson traded a sixth round pick to the New York Giants for Grant before the season started. Denver did not have a very good run defense, so Grant and the offensive line gained confidence with Grant’s 104-yard effort. From that point forward, Grant would be one of the NFL’s top running backs. However, this game would be remembered for one play. The game went into overtime tied at 13 and Green Bay started the overtime period at its own 18. That was went Favre worked his magic. On the first play of overtime, Favre launched a rainbow down the left sideline to Greg Jennings for the 82-yard touchdown to win the game and give the Packers a 6-1 start.

The first points would wait until late in the first quarter. Denver would travel 60 yards in nine plays, aided by two Green Bay penalties. On a 3rd-and-Goal from the 5, Jay Cutler (he seems to be on this list quite often) was looking for tight end Daniel Graham, but Atari Bigby was called for pass interference in the end zone. Two plays later, Cutler found Tony Scheffler in the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown and Denver had a 7-0 lead with four minutes to go in the first quarter.

It did not take long for the Packers to respond. On the opening play, Favre aired it out. Denver had a great cornerback duo of Champ Bailey and Dre Bly. Favre would burn both in this Monday Night Football game. This time, it was Bailey. Favre launched a deep pass down the right sideline to James Jones, who had a step on Bailey. He caught it and would cut to the left and outrace the Broncos defenders into the end zone for the Green Bay 79-yard touchdown. It would tie the game at 7. This would be the last touchdown by either side in regulation.

Denver would drive down on its next possession. The Broncos would travel 72 yards in seven plays, aided once again by penalties. The Broncos would move all the way down to the Green Bay 1, thanks to 42 yards passing by Cutler and 20 penalty yards. However, on the second down play from the 1, Cutler fumbled the snap and the Packers recovered. That kept the game tied.

Green Bay would then embark on the longest non-touchdown drive in team history. Starting at their own 1, the Packers traveled 98 yards in 14 plays, but would have to settle for the field goal. The drive took up more than half the second quarter with Grant doing most of the damage. He had seven carries on the drive for 53 yards, but would only gain three yards on a 3rd-and-Goal at the 4, so the Packers would have to settle for a chip-shot Mason Crosby field goal and Green Bay took a 10-7 lead with a little more than seven minutes to go in the first half.

Grant was back at it on the Packers next possession. He was given the ball the first five times for a total of 23 yards to move the ball into Denver territory. Favre would throw for 29 yards and a 15-yard penalty moved the ball inside the 10, but Crosby would have to kick another field goal and the Packers would take a 13-7 lead into halftime.

The Packers were done scoring for regulation. Denver would score all six points in the second half and the game would go into overtime. After a Packers punt, it was the Broncos turn to go on a lengthy field goal drive. Denver would go on a 53-yard drive that lasted more than half the third quarter that would end with a Jason Elam 45-yard field goal. Cutler would throw for 54 yards on the drive, but two penalties pushed the Broncos back to a 1st-and-25 and Denver would never recover and had to settle for a field goal. It would remain 13-10 until the final seconds of the game.

With two and a half minutes to go in regulation, Denver had the ball down three and started the drive at its own 7. The Broncos got off to a nice start on the possession as Bigby was called for a pass interference, which moved the ball out to the 24. Then, Cutler got hot, completing 4-of-7 for 63 yards on the game-tying drive. Marshall would have 48 yards of the 63. From the 4 with a half minute to go, Cutler could not get the Broncos into the end zone and they had to settle for a field goal and a tie game at the end of regulation.

The Packers won the coin toss and would receive. Shaun Bodiford brought the opening kickoff back to the 18. Denver would have a pretty short field if they stop them for a three-and-out. But Favre had other ideas. The crowd was deafening as Favre took the snap and dropped back to pass. He looked and launched a deep ball for Jennings, the second-year wide receiver from Western Michigan. I mentioned both cornerback were burned. This time, it was Bly. Jennings burned him down the sideline and Favre threw a perfect pass and Jennings caught it in stride and glided into the end zone for the score and the win.

It was one of the signature moments in Favre’s career. This was the second win of six consecutive wins for the Packers. Green Bay would end up going 13-3 on the season and this was one of the defining moments of the 2007 season.

4. Packers 33, Bears 28 (2013)

It was the first of three consecutive years that the NFC North was decided on the final week. Green Bay was coming in at 7-7-1 and Chicago was 8-7. The winner was the champion of the division. It was an adventurous season for the Packers, as they started out 5-2 before Aaron Rodgers broke his collarbone in the first meeting against Chicago. The Packers went on to lose 27-20 to Chicago at Lambeau Field and that would start a string of five consecutive winless weeks for them. The only time the Packers did not lose in those five games was a tie against Minnesota. Green Bay was 5-6-1 before it won two of its next three to stay within striking distance of the division. Chicago had a chance to win the division in week 16 after the Packers and Lions both lost, but the Bears were annihilated 54-11 in Philadelphia on Sunday Night Football.That would set up a showdown at Soldier Field to decide the winner of the division and a home playoff game against San Francisco. It was also the return of Rodgers, who had not played since breaking his collarbone. Rodgers had a solid return, but he saved his best for last. With the Packers facing a fourth down with less than a minute to go, he launched a 48-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Randall Cobb for the game-winning score with 38 seconds remaining.

The opening kickoff turned out well for the Bears, as Devin Hester returned it to the Chicago 43, and Green Bay’s Victor Aiyewa was whistled for an unnecessary roughness, which moved the ball to the Packers 42. But Chicago would do nothing with the terrific field position and the Bears would have to punt.

Then, Rodgers would take the field for the first time since his injury and he would lead his team on a lengthy drive. Green Bay would go on a 14-play drive in an effort to get on the board first. Mike McCarthy did not ease Rodgers back into the game. On this opening drive, Rodgers dropped back to pass nine of the 14 plays. He would go 6-of-8 for 39 yards, and he was sacked once. However, the last pass he threw was an ill-advised pass on 3rd-and-Goal at the 5 and he was picked off in the end zone by Chris Conte to keep the game scoreless.

Starting at the 20, it did not take long for the Bears to blow right down the field for the first score of the day. Jay Cutler used completions of 13 and 37 to Brandon Marshall to move them inside the Packers 10. That is where Cutler found Matt Forte for a touchdown on a 3rd-and-Goal. That was the only third down Chicago faced on the 80-yard drive that went eight plays.

Rodgers was intercepted once again on the Packers next drive and once again it was deep in Bears territory. But Rodgers would lead his team down the field for Green Bay’s first points of the game midway through the second quarter. The Packers started with solid field position at their own 36 and a Rodgers pass to Jordy Nelson for 26 yards and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Chicago’s Shea McClellin moved the ball moved the ball into the red zone. However, the drive would stall and Mason Crosby would nail a 33-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3.

It got even better for Green Bay as Chicago had to start deep in its own territory to began its next drive. The Packers defense forced a three-and-out and would receive great starting field position after a short Adam Podlesh punt. The Packers would move into the red zone and had a 1st-and-10 at the 17. That was when Rodgers went back to pass and the ball was knocked out of his hands by Julius Peppers. Everybody on the field assumed it was an incomplete pass, but Jarrett Boykin picked it up for Green Bay. After a few moments of hesitation, he ran into the end zone for the touchdown. The replays showed that it clearly was a fumble and Boykin’s touchdown stood to give the Green and Gold their first lead of the game.

An Alshon Jeffery fumble put an end to the next Chicago possession and gave Green Bay great field position at the Bears 28 with less than two minutes to play in the first half. The Packers would move the ball inside the 10, but the drive would stall and Crosby kicked a short field goal with seconds left in the first half to give the Packers the 13-7 lead at the break.

It was a back-and-forth second half and the Bears would get it started. Hester would return a Tim Masthay punt 49 yards down to the 30. Five Forte runs later, Chicago would re-take the lead. But the Packers would answer right back. Using mostly runs, Green Bay would take the lead right back. In the Packers 80-yard drive, Lacy ran once for 17 and Starks ran four times for 51 yards to move the team down to the 12. Then back-to-back Rodgers passes put the Packers in the end zone. After a completion to James Jones for five yards, Rodgers found Cobb open in the end zone for the score and the Packers had the lead back, 20-14. But that would be far from Cobb’s biggest play of the game.

But back-and-forth the game went and Chicago took back the lead. On a 3rd-and-4 from the 32, Cutler went back to pass and found a wide open Jeffery for 67 yards down to the 1. Forte would punch it in a play later and Chicago had a 21-20 lead with five minutes to go in the third quarter. Green Bay would not answer on the next drive, though. After a pass to Nelson for a first down on the opening play of the drive, Rodgers threw three consecutive incompletions and the Packers had to punt. Chicago then went on a march to give the Bears their biggest lead of the game. Starting at its own 32, Chicago went on a 68-yard drive to give it a 28-20 lead. Forte had 54 combined yards on the drive, but it was Marshall who was on the receiving end of the score. Cutler would throw a pass to the right side for Marshall, and the receiver made a great catch in the end zone and Chicago had the lead by eight one play into the final quarter.

Back came Rodgers, moving Green Bay down the field 77 yards for the score in just six plays. He hit Nelson for 34 yards on the second play of the drive to move into Chicago territory. After a 12-yard completion to Jones, Rodgers threw a great pass to a diving Andrew Quarless for 22 yards down to the 6. Lacy did the work from there and the Packers cut the deficit to 28-27 with 11:38 remaining in the game. It would stay this way until the final minute of action.

Chicago would move into Green Bay territory on its next drive, but would have to punt. Green Bay would start at its own 13 with six and a half minutes left. Green Bay would move slowly up the field. It would face three fourth downs on the drive. The first 14 plays of the drive gained a total of 39 yards. Worried that the offense would not get another crack at the ball if they punted, the Packers went for it on 4th-and-Inches at their own 22. John Kuhn would plow ahead for a yard, moving the chains. Their second fourth down came following the two minute warning. It was a 4th-and-1 from their own 44, Rodgers threw a pass to the left for a lunging Nelson for six yards and a first down. The next three plays gained a total of two yards, so the Packers were forced with a 4th-and-8 from the Bears 48 with 46 seconds to play.

The Bears defenders thought it would be a shorter pass to move the chains. Rodgers took the snap and Chicago brought the blitz. Peppers came free, but Kuhn made a game-saving play, scrambling over to cut Peppers before he could get to the quarterback. That also allowed Rodgers to scramble to his left. He may have been able to run it for the first down if he wanted to, but he found Cobb all alone at the Bears 10. Cobb caught it and ran the final 10 yards for the score and the Packers took the 33-28 lead. The two-point attempt failed and the Packers lead remained at five.

Chicago had one more chance to win the game. The drive started at the 40, so the Bears had to travel 60 yards in a half a minute. Cutler’s first pass went to Martellus Bennett for 15 to move the Bears into Packers territory. However, the next two Cutler passes were incomplete. That would set up a third down with 10 seconds left. The Bears decided to go for it all and launch it into the end zone, but Cutler’s Hail Mary attempt was intercepted by Sam Shields and the Packers came into Chicago and stole the NFC North.

Green Bay would go onto lose in the Wild Card round on a last-second field goal to San Francisco, but nothing could take away from the great moment this was. It was great to not only win the NFC North on the final weekend of the season, but do it on the road against your archrival and break their heart in the process.

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.