It was quite the exciting weekend for NFL playoff football.
From another “Hail Mary”, to setting the stage for two legends facing off once again, the four games that had taken place showcased talent from both the rising stars and future Hall of Famers of the National Football League. The games were: the Kansas City Chiefs/New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers/Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks/Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers/Denver Broncos.
This time, we take a look back and recap the Green Bay Packers vs. Arizona Cardinals game.
The Green Bay Packers defeated the Washington Redskins in the Wild Card round 35-18 the week before, while the Arizona Cardinals earned the #2 seed in the NFC with a record of 13-3. Both teams are led by two of the top quarterbacks in the NFL: Aaron Rodgers of the Packers, and Carson Palmer of the Cardinals.
The game went back and forth defensively, as the Cardinals were able to hold onto a 7-6 lead heading into the half.
With 10:17 left in the third quarter, the Packers were able to get ahead thanks to a Rodgers touchdown pass to Jeff Janis… who will be a big factor later in the game. However, the Cardinals were soon able to muster a field goal to cut the deficit to three points. But the biggest moment of the game came with less than 10 seconds to go in the fourth.
Arizona had a 20-13 lead over the Packers with five seconds to go. With the blitz heavily on Rodgers, the veteran wrapped around to the left side and launched the ball deep into the end-zone, where Janis made an amazing leaping catch right in front of top corner Patrick Peterson. There has been an ongoing discussion on whether he had full control or not, but the final ruling was a touchdown, thus sending the game to overtime.
Unfortunately, Green Bay never had a chance to win the game, as after only three plays in overtime, one of which was a 75-yard catch by Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals won after a well-crafted shovel pass from Palmer went to Fitzgerald for a touchdown, giving them the 26-20 victory, and sending them to the NFC Championship Game.
Rodgers completed 24 of 44 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Palmer, in his first playoff victory in his long career, went 25-of-41 yards for 349 yards and three scores with two interceptions overall.
(Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
