Foot doesn’t fail him
Despite lack of feeling, Crosby delivers win
Chicago — The wind chill was below zero. With the Green Bay Packers sitting on their 26yard line, facing third and 11 against the Chicago Bears with about 30 seconds left Sunday, kicker Mason Crosby didn’t have much reason to be completely warmed up.
Before quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ final completion dropped into receiver Jordy Nelson’s arms, Crosby spent most of Sunday’s second half standing on the sideline. He was cold. Bundled up. Couldn’t feel his toes.
“My toes were cold,” Crosby said. “Couldn’t feel those for most of the game.”
Everyone on the Packers’ sideline celebrated Nelson’s 60yard catch. For Crosby, the sudden change wasn’t ideal. Like any kicker, Crosby mentally prepared himself for what could be a game-winning field goal. Even that veered off script. A 32-yard chip shot? The Packers were just trying to sniff Crosby’s range, which only extended to about 50 yards. Crosby expected a long, desperate field goal, until he saw Nelson streaking open behind the Bears secondary.
“I’m watching the ball,” Crosby said, “and then I’m like, ‘Oh, man, we’re going to be in fieldgoal range if he catches this.’ So I ran back and got one more kick, and the rest is history.”
Almost nothing went as expected in a wild, final-minute rally at Soldier Field. Nobody had to adjust more than Crosby, who ultimately appreciated a closer shot at sending the Packers home with a win.
About the only assist Crosby got was from Bears coach John Fox. His timeout with three seconds left to freeze Crosby wiped out what would have been a game-winning field goal, but it helped Crosby more than it hurt.
Crosby welcomed more time to warm up.
“With how quick that was with the long throw and everything,” Crosby said, “I didn’t actually get a ton of kicks into the net. And then obviously not having kicked down on that end in the fourth quarter, I thought it was actually helpful to be able to get a rep there and just see how the ball was flying.
“Just trusted it. Our operation was great, protection. Everything was solid. Couldn’t have asked for a better ending.”
The Packers might not have needed a last-play field goal had coach Mike McCarthy not eschewed a 40-yard attempt in the first quarter. McCarthy said the Packers were “on the cusp” of field-goal range, though Crosby said he felt comfortable from that distance.
Crosby added he thought McCarthy simply wanted to take a two-touchdown lead early, a comfortable lead that could have allowed the Packers to rest Rodgers in the second half.
Guards down: T.J. Lang felt his helmet smack squarely into left guard Lane Taylor’s hip, and both Packers starting guards went down on the same play.
They might not have been close together enough for a collision if not for a screen pass to running back Ty Montgomery. Taylor peeled back and tried to block Bears linebacker Nick Kwiatkowski. Instead, Kwiatkowski made the tackle, and Lang’s helmet hit Taylor.
The play lost 1 yard, two starters. Taylor, sitting at his locker, said he merely had a bruised hip.
“T.J.’s head just went straight into my hip,” Taylor said. “It smoked me. I think it’s just going to be just a bruise, a good-sized bruise tomorrow, but that’s all part of the game. So I’ll be all right.”
Taylor took longer to get up off the field. For Lang, the play might have been even scarier. When his head hit Taylor’s hip, Lang said he felt “shock absorption” shoot down his spine.
After postgame X-rays, Lang said he believes he simply has strained muscles in his neck and upper back. Lang said he avoided any head injury.
“Everything locked up” Lang said, “and went a little dead on me there. It scared the hell out of me. I’ve never been hit like that before.”
Both appeared to have dodged what could have been more significant injuries. Lang and Taylor said they expect to be able to play against the Minne- sota Vikings on Saturday, despite the short week.
Outside linebacker Jayrone Elliott left the game with a hand injury suffered on special teams. Elliott later returned to the field with a large club on his left hand, similar to the one fellow linebacker Nick Perry wore after injuring his hand against the Houston Texans.
After the game, Elliott had a black plaster cast on his injured hand. He told a reporter he would be fine.
Unforgettable flings: There were elements of symmetry between Nelson’s 60-yard reception against the Bears on Sunday and Richard Rodgers’ 61yard Hail Mary against the Detroit Lions last year.
The obvious is that both plays secured victories in highly entertaining football games. The subplot is that both plays, it can be argued, saved the Packers’ playoff hopes.
With four straight wins, the 2016 Packers are in the thick of the NFC North race after knocking off the Bears, 30-27. A year ago, Rodgers’ astonishing catch ignited a three-game winning streak that pushed the 2015 Packers toward the wild-card berth they later received.
And as expected, every player will remember where they were standing and what they saw as Aaron Rodgers heaved a tremendous pass toward Nelson, his favorite receiver, twothirds of the way downfield.
Wide receiver Ty Montgomery: “That last play from Aaron to Jordy, I’m just standing there watching it like, ‘Go get it, Jordy!’ And he came down with it and was awesome. Mason finished it off with the kick.”
Right tackle Bryan Bulaga: “I was able to see it. They ran a little stunt on me and (Jason) Spriggs on that side. We didn’t really pass it off but Spriggs bounced behind me, and I was able to see Aaron throw it. Then I was able to track it through the air and saw him come down with it. It was a pretty good feeling, I can tell you that much.”
Defensive back Micah Hyde: “It’s a third-and-long (play), and those guys do that all the time. You just see 12 load up, throw it and there was so much air on the ball that I saw Jordy running, look up and run some more and look up. It was like he was trying to gain speed to catch up to it, and he did. I honestly didn’t see him catch it because people were jumping up in front of me.”