Rodgers' 'Hail Mary' gives Packers NFL win

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers have pulled off a memorable victory over the Detroit Lions, the Packers quarterback once again playing the hero.

Aaron Rodgers threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Richard Rodgers with no time left to give the Green Bay Packers a 27-23 victory over the Detroit Lions on Thursday.

The Packers got the untimed down after Detroit defensive end Devin Taylor was called for grabbing Aaron Rodgers' facemask on a tackle, on what would've been the last play.

The Packers (8-4) had lost four of five. The Lions (4-8) had won three straight and blew a chance to sweep the season series for the first time since 1991.

Matthew Stafford connected with Calvin Johnson on his second touchdown pass of the first quarter to help Detroit build a 20-point lead that it couldn't keep.

Aaron Rodgers scored on a 17-yard run with 3:04 left, pulling the Packers to within two points.

Stafford connected with TJ Jones to convert a third-and-12 from the Detroit 18 after Green Bay called its final timeout with 2:54 to go. The Lions needed one more first down to seal the victory, but Green Bay forced them to punt and got the ball back on the 21 with 23 seconds left.

Following two incompletions, including one in which Detroit appeared to get away with pass interference, Aaron Rodgers threw a pass to James Jones and the ball was lateralled twice, leaving the quarterback with the ball and no one behind him to pitch to keep the play alive.

But Taylor grabbed Aaron Rodgers' facemask, giving the Packers another play.

Aaron Rodgers scrambled long enough to give his receivers time to sprint to the end zone and got to the outside. The quarterback threw the ball, perhaps as high and far as he could, and his tight end found a way to get to it in front of a slew of players from both teams and leaped for the catch.

Aaron Rodgers finished 24 of 36 for 289 yards with two touchdowns.

Stafford was 23 of 35 for 220 yards and two scores.

Detroit went ahead 17-0 after its first three drives and capped the opening possession of the third quarter with a field goal to go ahead 20-0.


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2 min read

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Source: AAP



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