Last night the Green Bay Packers successfully completed the most miraculous play in football, the Hail Mary, to cap off a 20 point, second half comeback against division rival, the Detroit Lions.

Trailing 20-0 halfway through the third quarter, the Packers’ offense looked stagnant at best, while Detroit was well on their way to their fourth straight win. Then, a fumble recovered by Green Bay WR Randall Cobb in the endzone, a forced fumble, and an 8 yard touchdown pass had the Packers back in business. Detroit regained momentum with a field goal to extend their lead to nine, but a crucial drive by Rodgers and the offense, including a 4th down conversion, and a burst in the running game, ended with a Rodgers 17 yard scamper into the endzone with just three minutes left. The Packers defense needed a stop and it seemed they were not going to be able to do it after a conversion on 3rd and 12 by the lions, and the Packers out of timeouts. However, they forced a punt and got the ball back with just 25 seconds left and the ball on their own 21 yard-line. A few incompletions and a lateral attempt back to Aaron Rodgers before being tackled as time expired appeared to end the Packers’ comeback.

But wait, there was a 15 yard penalty on a facemask by the defense, which gave Green Bay one un-timed play with their ball on their own 39 yard line. Needing an answered prayer, Rodgers escaped from the pocket, and was able to get under his 61 yard heave to the endzone. There awaited numerous Lions and just 5 Packer receivers that were responsible with hailing in the pass. And that’s just what WR Richard Rodgers did.

Fun fact: The Rodgers-to-Rodgers combination consisted of two University of California alumni, and Richard Rodgers’ dad was on the California team that was involved in “The Play”. Now, if you don’t what “The Play” is, first off you need to stop living under a rock, and then go ahead and watch it for yourself.

More unbelievable however, is just how much has to work for a Hail Mary such as Green Bay’s last night. First, the defense can control the play in so many ways. Most of the time the QB gets pressured and is forced to throw it before his receivers get to the endzone or gets sacked before he can even throw it. Then, you have to hope the QB has the momentum and the arm strength to make the throw. And even if all that you works, you still need a miracle. Typically, the offense is outnumbered 7 to 5 in the endzone, and all the defense has to do is knock the ball down or anything to prevent a catch. However, the offense still has to hope one of its receivers can high point the ball, come down with it, and maintain possession throughout the catch. There are so many successful ways to defend a Hail Mary and as long as the defense avoids a drastic mistake, there is no chance of the prayer being answered.

However, that’s just what the Lions did on this infamous final play. First, they chose not to blitz, as is becoming more popular in these situations, and the defensive line allowed Rodgers to get outside the pocket and have a free run to the line of scrimmage so he can heave the ball to the endzone. Then, the Lions secondary allowed the Packers WRs to get in front of them, and no one on the defense took control and played the ball. All of that combined is what caused Richard Rodgers to make a miraculous play. It should also be mentioned that if there’s one guy that deserves to make a play like that, it’s Richard Rodgers. After all, he is the guy that dropped the onside kick in the postseason against Seattle last year that allowed the Seahawks to come back and win the NFC championship game. I’m not so sure Rodgers will ever forget that moment, but plays like these surely help.