Rodgers rescues Pack just in the nick of time
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Aaron Rodgers stood facemask to facemask with a teammate, screaming in jubilation at the end of a hot, harrowing afternoon.
Rodgers had the last word Sunday, throwing a four- yard touchdown pass to Andrew Quarless with three seconds left to lift the Green Bay Packers past the Miami Dolphins 27- 24.
The Packers ( 4- 2) twice gave up leads and trailed 24- 17 before Rodgers directed consecutive drives of 68 and 60 yards for the victory. He overcame a fumble and a fourthand10 on the Packers’ final possession and faked an intentional spike before throwing a completion that set up the winning touchdown.
‘‘ You want the opportunity to make a play at the end,’’ Rodgers said.
Rodgers finished with three touchdown passes and no interceptions. The Packers earned their third consecutive victory, won in Miami for only the second time in their history and stayed tied with the Detroit Lions atop the NFC North.
The Dolphins ( 2- 3) lost despite the return of six starters who had missed playing time. They overcame deficits of 10- 3 and 17- 10 and took a 24- 17 lead when Ryan Tannehill connected with Mike Wallace on a five- yard touchdown pass.
‘‘ We knew this was going to be a tough game coming down here in the heat,’’ Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. ‘‘ We said we weren’t worried about it all week, and we weren’t worried. But the fact of the matter is, we are from Wisconsin. So we fought through it.’’
The Packers kicked a field goal with 4: 09 to go, pulling to 24- 20, then forced a punt to start at their 40 with 2: 04 left. Rodgers fumbled on a sack, and teammate T. J. Lang recovered. That set up a fourthand10, but Rodgers threw to Jordy Nelson for 18 yards, then hit James Starks on third- and- 10 for 10 yards.
With the clock running after another completion, Rodgers faked a spike before throwing to Davante Adams, who gained 12 yards before going out of bounds with six seconds left.
‘‘ That was some freestyling right there,’’ Rodgers said.
After a Dolphins timeout, Quarless easily outmaneuvered linebacker Philip Wheeler for the winning catch. Wheeler wasn’t thrilled with the defensive scheme, which left him alone on the flank.
‘‘ I felt like it was 50 percent bad coverage and 50 percent bad call,’’ he said. ‘‘ Rodgers is a really good quarterback, and he figured it out.’’