Miracle in Motown
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The Miracle in Motown was the final play of an
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
game between the
NFC North The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and tough ri ...
divisional
rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
and
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
on December 3, 2015. The game, which was broadcast on television nationally on ''
Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...
'', was played at
Ford Field Ford Field is a domed American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), as well as the annual Quick Lane Bowl college football bowl game, state champ ...
in
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
during the
2015 NFL season The 2015 NFL season was the 96th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL), and the 50th in the Super Bowl era. To celebrate the 50th season of the Super Bowl, a gold-plated NFL logo and other various gold-themed promotions w ...
. On the final play of regulation, with no time remaining on the game clock, Packers
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the ...
threw a
Hail Mary pass A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with an exceptionally small chance of achieving a completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes reference to the Catho ...
into the end-zone that was caught by
tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
Richard Rodgers II Richard Christopher Rodgers II (born January 22, 1992) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played college football at California and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He has also ...
for the game-winning
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
. The play resulted in a dramatic 27–23 come-from-behind victory for the Packers, who had trailed 20–0 in the second half. The victory was the Packers' fourth-largest comeback in franchise history. It was also the start of a 3–game winning streak that would help the Packers clinch their seventh consecutive postseason berth. The play won the
NFL Play of the Year Award The NFL Play of the Year Award, presented as the Bridgestone Moment of the Year, is a National Football League award. It was first awarded in 2011, at the inaugural NFL Honors awards show. From 2012 onward, Bridgestone became the presenter of th ...
for the 2015 season and would be named the year's best play in North American sports at the 2016 ESPY Awards.


Background

The Packers entered the game having lost 4 of their previous 5 games after starting the season 6-0 and were seeking a win to keep pace in a close division race with the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
. The Lions came into the game following 3 consecutive victories following a 1-7 start to the season and needed a win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Eighteen days prior, the Lions had ended a 24-year winless streak at the Packer's
Lambeau Field Lambeau Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 as City Stadium, replacing ...
with an 18–16 victory. With a victory in the teams second meeting, the Lions would achieve their first season sweep of the rival Packers since 1991. The Lions started the game strong, scoring on their first three possessions while holding the Packers to only 29 yards of offense to take a 17-0 lead. In the second quarter, both offenses struggled to generate offense and Packers entered halftime facing a 17-0 deficit. The Lions would extend their lead with a
field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
on the opening drive of the second half to take a 20-0 lead. The Packers would answer scoring 14 points in just under 90 seconds to cut the lead to 20-14. The teams then traded scores, a field goal for Lions and a touchdown for the Packers to bring the score to 23-21 in favor of Detroit as the game reached its final seconds.


Events of the play

With six seconds left on the game clock, Green Bay was faced with a 3rd-and-10 at their own 21-yard line. On a desperation play after one forward pass and one backward pass, Packers tight end Richard Rodgers II lateraled the ball to quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was quickly tackled at his 24-yard line by Detroit Lions defender Devin Taylor, with the game clock having gone to zero during the play. However, the official standing behind the play called a 15-yard penalty on Taylor for a face mask penalty on the tackle, and so, because NFL rules state that a game cannot end on a defensive penalty, the Packers were given an untimed play at their own 39-yard line. After the snap, all Packers receivers ran towards the end zone and Aaron Rodgers broke to his left in order to buy time for his receivers to reach the end zone before changing direction and scrambling to his right, escaping the Detroit defenders in the process. Rodgers then threw a Hail Mary pass into the end zone. Tight end Richard Rodgers II, who was the last player to reach the end zone, leapt high in front of all defenders, caught the ball at full extension, and came down nearly unchallenged for the catch, resulting in the Packers winning 27–23 in walk-off fashion. According to a number of estimations, Aaron Rodgers's pass traveled in the air before reaching the hands of Richard Rodgers II. The throw was also high enough to nearly hit the rafters at Ford Field. The Packers 20 point comeback was the fourth-largest in franchise history.


Game box score


Penalty controversy

The face mask penalty against Detroit that led to the winning play by Green Bay generated controversy, since replays appeared to show Taylor not grabbing Rodgers's facemask. Dean Blandino, NFL Vice President of Officiating, responded to the call on
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moments after the game: During a visit by NFL officials to a Lions training camp in 2016, Carl Cheffers, the official who threw the flag, was asked about the penalty; he said "I think it was an illegal tackle. Horse-collar, facemask, I think it was an illegal tackle. I’m very comfortable with it."


Naming the play

The nickname for the play, "Miracle in Motown", was first used by Jim Nantz during the nationally broadcast ''
Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to 20 ...
'' postgame show.


Broadcast calls of the final play


TV


Radio


Aftermath

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Packers as was credited as saving the teams season. It also helped the Packers maintain pace with the Vikings for the NFC North title, however the Vikings would ultimately win the division, ending the Packers 4 year streak of division titles. The Packers would still make the playoffs as a wild card team. In the playoffs, the Packers would defeat the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
35-18 in the Wild Card Round before falling to the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
in the Divisional Round 20-26 (the game went into overtime after Rodgers completed another successful Hail Mary pass, this time to Jeff Janis, only for Arizona to win on their opening drive of the extra period largely through the efforts of Larry Fitzgerald). The loss effectively eliminated Detroit from playoff contention and after going 3-1 in their final four games, the Lions would finish the season in 3rd place in NFC North with a 7-9 record. The play marked the first of three successful Hail Mary's in the span of 13 months for Aaron Rodgers leading him to be regarded as ''The Hail Mary King''. Considered one of the best of the year, the play won the
NFL Play of the Year Award The NFL Play of the Year Award, presented as the Bridgestone Moment of the Year, is a National Football League award. It was first awarded in 2011, at the inaugural NFL Honors awards show. From 2012 onward, Bridgestone became the presenter of th ...
for the 2015 season and was named the year's best play in North American sports at the 2016 ESPY Awards.


See also

*
2015 Green Bay Packers season The Green Bay Packers season was the franchise's 97th season overall, 95th in the National Football League, and the tenth under head coach Mike McCarthy. With a Week 15 win over the Oakland Raiders, the Packers clinched a playoff spot for the sev ...
* Lions–Packers rivalry * List of Hail Mary passes in American football


References


External links

* {{National Football League on television and radio 2015 National Football League season National Football League games History of the Green Bay Packers Detroit Lions American football incidents December 2015 sports events in the United States 2015 in sports in Michigan