Packers leave it to heaver, again
Rodgers pulls off yet another Hail Mary touchdown pass to spark rout of Giants.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers, master of the Hail Mary pass, struck again in another big moment.
Rodgers overcame a sluggish start and finished with four touchdown passes, including a momentumswinging 42-yard heave to Randall Cobb at the end of the second quarter, to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 38-13 win Sunday over the New York Giants in an NFC wild-card game.
The Packers move on to face the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round next week.
Rodgers was 25 for 40 for 362 yards, continuing a remarkable run of quarterback play that helped the Packers win their final six games of the regular season to take the NFC North. Cobb finished with five receptions for 116 yards and three scores.
For much of the first half, the Giants’ defense flustered the two-time NFL MVP. They got pressure on Rodgers and the secondary blanketed the Packers’ talented receiving corps, and a few boos even rained down from the stands after New York built a 6-0 lead on two field goals by Robbie Gould.
As it turned out, Rodgers was just getting started.
“We hit a Hail Mary. That got us going,” Rodgers said.
Green Bay scored two touchdowns in the final 2 minutes 20 seconds of the second quarter, punctuated by another remarkable desperation pass by Rodgers.
With the ball on the Giants 42, Rodgers took the snap with six seconds left. He rolled to his right before unleashing a throw from about the Green Bay 47. Cobb somehow got behind three defensive backs near the back of the end zone to haul in the pass, getting both feet down before falling across the end line.
“They boxed us out better than we played it,” Giants Coach Ben McAdoo said. “It was a heck of a throw, heck of a catch.”
The Giants looked stunned, just as the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals looked last season after Rodgers pulled off similar feats.
“Davante [Adams] made a bunch of plays,” he said. “And Randall Cobb, who this offense has been missing for a long time. We’re better with No. 18 on the field and he showed it tonight.”
Rodgers and Cobb weren’t done.
They connected again on a 30-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter for a 21-13 lead. That score answered a Giants touchdown that briefly cut the deficit to one.
“Second half we got back to some rhythm throws and I was getting better on my timing, getting the ball out of my hand quickly,” Rodgers said. “No negative-yard plays, the offensive line blocked really well, regardless of the stats.”
A Packers defense ranked 21st in points allowed (24.3) coming into the game limited the production of Odell Beckham Jr. and the Giants’ receiving corps in spite of a battered secondary.
Beckham finished with four catches for 28 yards. Eli Manning was 23 for 44 for 299 yards, including the 41-yard touchdown pass to Tavarres King in the third quarter.
But the Giants were plagued by a series of drops by their receivers.
“It’s a game of inches, and we were just inches short on some of these plays, inches away from big plays,” Beckham said.