Aaron Rodgers' touchdown connection to Randall Cobb on fourth-and-8 Sunday against the Chicago Bears will go down in Green Bay Packers lore. However, it might have not happened if, on a previous fourth down, Packers offensive players hadn't lobbied coach Mike McCarthy to go for it.
With 4:41 remaining in the game and facing a fourth-and-1 on his own 22-yard line, McCarthy planned to punt. He figured there was enough time to get the ball back.
While refs measured the line to gain, players started pestering the coach.
"It was fourth-and-1 and we kind of had to talk coach into letting us go for it," guard T.J. Lang said, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Packers players had faith they could gain a yard, even though they were just stuffed on third-and-1.
"When we came to that first fourth down and coach was calling the punt team out, we were like, 'No, let us get this," Lang said. "This is our time, this is our moment. We were able to come through in that moment. Later on we had another fourth down and everybody was calm. Go out there and handle your job and make some plays."
Playoff schedule
The first two rounds of the NFL's postseason schedule for the 2013 season were released Sunday night. **More ...**
Fullback John Kuhn gained the yard. Two fourth downs later, Cobb was dancing in the end zone.
If players hadn't convinced McCarthy to take the first chance, the Packers might not have pulled off the 33-28 victory, and history would have been much different. As we learned multiple times in 2013, fortune favors the bold.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" recapped all of Week 17's wild action.
