Midweek football doesn't always breed the best football, but it often leads to crazy finishes. See: Thursday Night Football, Week 13, 2015. At the climax of one crucial divisional game, the most unlikely of circumstances culminated in one of the most thrilling, impressive and shocking plays of the season. Last we checked, the city of Detroit still hasn't lifted its collective jaw up off the cold pavement.
Topping Week 13's Top 10 "Performance Moments of the Week" presented by Bridgestone is Aaron Rodgers' game-winning, season-saving, Twitter-breaking Hail Mary to Richard Rodgers.
With the Packers reeling in second place in the NFC North following four losses in five games, Mike McCarthy's squad couldn't afford to lose another divisional game. Though Green Bay had beaten the Vikings two weeks earlier, Minnesota was threatening to steal the division and send the Packers to the wild-card round. Going down 17-0 in the first quarter didn't help Green Bay's cause.
When the Lions' lead stretched to 20-0 in the third quarter, the Pack finally turned it on, scoring three touchdowns in the second half to crawl back to within two points with three minutes to go. Green Bay stuffed Matthew Stafford and the Lions on defense and got the ball back on its own 21 with just 23 seconds to go and no timeouts. Kicking a game-winning field goal under those circumstances was improbable; scoring a game-winning touchdown, nearly impossible.
Following a fateful facemask penalty, Green Bay was gifted an untimed down on its 39-yard line. In a five-wide set, Aaron Rodgers took the snap in shotgun and evaded the Detoit pass rush as his receivers rushed toward the end zone. Rolling out to the right, Rodgers heaved one of the most impressive deep balls in league history, traveling nearly 65 yards in just enough time for his receivers to have perfect view of the falling pigskin. On the other end of the ball, tight end Richard Rodgers -- no relation that we know of -- was supposed to block for Green Bay's assortment of athletic wideouts, but trailing behind the pack, he saw the ball falling toward him and made a strong, vertical effort.
Also on the countdown: If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and runs like a Heisman winner, it's Marcus Mariota. ... Tyvon Branch seals the Black Hole's fate. ... Stephone Anthony, you just made history.
