Cardinals were left with jaws on ground after Packers’ Hail Mary

GLENDALE, Ariz. — In truth, it did not even seem like the ball hung in the air for that long. Yet, it took forever, and by the time it landed — in the arms of Green Bay Packers receiver Jeff Janis — every last breath of air had been sucked out of University of Phoenix Stadium.

Pending the extra point, the Arizona Cardinals had just allowed the Packers to tie the game on what was, essentially, a 41-yard Hail Mary.

“That damn Aaron Rodgers,” linebacker Kevin Minter said, turning his attention to Janis. “That man, he made a play, didn’t he? I mean, [Patrick Peterson] and [Rashad Johnson], it looked like they had it down, and he just made a great play.

“My damn jaw was on the ground.”

Minter said he thought something had to have happened that would render the pass incomplete or the game over.

“There was no way he caught that ball,” he thought at the time.

But there was no such salvation for the Cardinals, not on that play.

It was actually the culmination of an impressive drive by the Packers that saw them rebound from a Dwight Freeney sack to convert a 4th-and-20 from their own 4-yard line when Rodgers connected with Janis for a 60-yard gain that kept the Packers alive and put them in position for the final pass.

“That was a crazy, crazy ending — I don’t think I’ve been a part of an ending like that quite before,” Peterson said. “To give up a 4th-and-20, then next thing you know to give up a Hail Mary. You know, statistically they say when you get a sack on a drive, it’s pretty much over.

“But Aaron Rodgers, he’s a hell of a quarterback. He’s been doing nothing but great things all year to help that team win ball games.”

It was not the first time Rodgers had brought his team back from the dead. Earlier in the season he hit tight end Richard Rodgers on a similar heave to beat the Detroit Lions.

“They called timeout and when they did I figured they were going to bring an empty pressure look, which teams hadn’t done,” Rodgers said of the play. “Detroit didn’t do it, so we kind of made a little bit of an adjustment and I kept Richard (Rodgers) in. (Markus) Golden got some good pressure and I was able to spin out to the left.

“At that point I just wanted to put some air on it. I didn’t know where anybody was really. I saw Jeff briefly and just tried to put some air on it to give him a chance.”

There is always a chance the play will work but really, it shouldn’t — especially when there is just one receiver in the end zone and the defense has a good idea of where the ball is going, with plenty of time to adjust when the ball is in the air.

“I saw Aaron throw it,” Janis said. “I tried to guess on the trajectory of it. I saw it coming down and just tried to jump up and make a play.”

“It was a good play,” Johnson said. “We had a blitz dialed up because we had seen the Detroit play and how he was able to maneuver the guys and get back to his right to make the throw, so we had a blitz coming from our left to keep him from rolling out.

“The veteran and special quarterback he is, he saw it and came back to the right and had a one-on-one matchup. I honestly think that Patrick knocked the ball into the guy’s hands. If you re-watch it, I don’t think the guy is going to catch it unless Patrick knocks it down into his arms and still almost drops it. It was one of those things. It happens sometimes, but we were able to come out a winner so it really doesn’t matter now.”

Because the Cardinals were able to score a touchdown on their initial possession in overtime and leave the stadium 26-20 winners, yes, the play will mostly go down as a big part of one of the best playoff games in NFL history.

A stressful play, but a great one that will be viewed with a smile.

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