Richard Rodgers made a Hail Mary touchdown grab to secure a miraculous last-second victory for the Green Bay Packers against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Thursday.
The Lions dominated the first quarter of the match after Matt Prater kicked them ahead with a 51-yard field goal. The home side then found the endzone as Matthew Stafford found Eric Ebron for a one-yard score.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers tried to kickstart his team, but he saw his pass intercepted by Glover Quin, and on the next play Stafford launched a pass down the sideline for Calvin Johnson to corral with one hand for a 17-yard touchdown.
Mason Crosby missed the chance to put his team on the board at the end of the first half as his kick cannoned off the post, but Prater did not have the same issue as he extended his side's lead to 20 points by nailing his effort from 34 yards.
Green Bay notched their first points of the game when they reached the redzone, but were fortunate as James Starks fumbled the ball, only for Randall Cobb to gather in the endzone.
Stafford then fumbled the ball to hand the Packers the ball in good field position, and Rodgers made his opposite number pay for his mistake when he found Davante Adams for an eight-yard score.
The Lions managed to regain their composure to take a crucial nine-point lead when Prater notched his third field goal of the match.
Rodgers responded late in the game, after the Packers converted on fourth down in their own territory, by running in down the sideline for a touchdown to bring the visitors within two points.
Detroit looked to have ended the game by running down the clock to 23 seconds before punting the ball back to the Packers. Mike McCarthy's men's hopes looked to have ended when Rodgers was brought down for a sack.
However, the referee awarded a facemask penalty against the Lions, handing the Packers one final play to propel the ball into the endzone from 61 yards.
Rodgers escaped the rush and threw towards the endzone, where Richard Rodgers peeled off his man and leaped to bring in the ball for the miraculous score to hand his team the victory.
The result leaves the Packers at 8-4 in their season, while the Lions drop to 4-8.
Simon Sinclair
