Football has been good to me lately, with the Sooners making the playoffs, slated to play #1 Clemson in the Orange Bowl. But, as a Packers fan, I still feel exhilarated by the way Green Bay beat Detroit. Down 20 to nothing, they scratched their way back at the very end to within striking distance, but then kept getting thwarted. I gave up numerous times during that game. Time ran out. But, wait, Detroit drew a (questionable) facemask penalty. The Packers were given one more play. Back on their own 39-yardline, quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a ball 61 yards with about that same height. (Some are saying it was 71 yards high!) And in the melee of both teams crowded in the endzone, receiver Richard Rodgers somehow caught it! Packers win!
This would seem to be a classic “Hail Mary” pass. The name comes, I believe, from Notre Dame football. The last play of the game, just throw the ball as far as you can and say a “Hail Mary,” praying in the Catholic way that the Mother of our Lord (football fan that she is) would cause someone to catch it. But, it turns out, this was an actual play that the Packers regularly practice and that was executed to perfection. After the jump, see a video of the pass and read the analysis.