Cards vs. Packers playoff shootout up for classic game vote
One of the most exciting games in Arizona Cardinals history came against the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round of the 2009 playoffs.
A quarterback duel between then 38-year-old
Kurt Warner and second-year starter, Aaron Rodgers, made the contest an instant classic.
Warner threw more touchdowns (five) than incomplete passes (four) while Rodgers aired it out for 404 yards and four TD’s. Early on the game didn’t have the makings of a classic, as Arizona jumped out to a 31-10 lead in the beginning of the third quarter. Rodgers then put the Packers on his back, passing his way to a 45-45 tie with 1:52 left in the fourth. A missed 34-yard field goal at the end of regulation by Arizona kicker Neil Rackers sent the game into overtime.
However, Green Bay’s reliance on the pass also brought them to their demise when, on the fourth play of overtime, Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby recovered a Rodgers fumble and returned it for a touchdown. The score propelled the Red Birds to a 51-45 victory and capped the highest-scoring playoff game in league history.
Now, Kurt Warner’s last home game as an Arizona Cardinal lives on, or it could, depending on the fans’ vote.
Football fans have the chance to choose between five classic NFL matchups. The winner will be aired Saturday Mar. 30, at 8 p.m. ET on the NFL Network.
If chosen, viewers will be able to hear from Green Bay running back Ryan Grant and Cardinals linebacker Clark Haggans, who were both mic’d up for the game.
One of the greatest games in franchise history faces some tough competition in polls, though.
The 2009 offensive shootout will have to beat the 1981 Chargers vs. Bengals game known as the “Freezer Bowl”, an overtime win for the Packers over their rival Vikings in 2000, the 2005 AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Colts and eventual Super Bowl XL winning Steelers, and the 2007 thriller when the Patriots edged out the Ravens 27-24 on Monday Night Football.
Polls will close on Thursday Mar. 28, although fans can vote as much as they please up until then.
