The Packers Lose in Spectacular Fashion

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Jim Bievers/ Packers.com

Ed Williams is an undrafted rookie free agent out of Fort Hays State who did enough in camp to eventually land himself on the practice squad. He’s been with the team most of the season and when Andrew Quarless was placed on injured reserve before the game, Williams was the sure bet to get the call. Instead, probably fearing that one of Shields or Rollins would not be ready for the game, they promoted defensive back Robertson Daniels. This was a curious decision, especially since going into a playoff game with only 4 receivers, at least two of whom are extremely injury prone, seemed like a bad idea. I’d already researched as much as I could on Williams just in case he ended up as the hero. Instead, Daniels wasn’t even activated, Williams stayed on the practice squad, and one Randall Cobb was seriously injured on an amazing circus catch (which was negated by a penalty) the Packers were left with just three receivers, none of which were among their top four receivers when the season started.

What happened after this is almost miraculous. With James Jones blanketed by star cornerback Patrick Peterson the entire fate of the offense hinged on former Badger Jared Abbrederis and the enigmatic Jeff Janis. Janis in particular showed all of the good and bad that he brings to the table. He was a master of making something out of the broken play, especially when he caught not one, but two Hail Marys on the Packers’ final drive, however he also cost them a touchdown earlier when he ran the wrong route near the end zone, and Aaron Rodgers was forced to call a timeout at one point because Janis had no idea where he was supposed to be.

While Janis was providing dizzying highs and terrifying lows, Jared Abbrederis was providing a steady safety net. His numbers are pedestrian and he only caught four of twelve targets, but after an early drop he caught everything that was catchable, he ran good precise routes, and was always in the right place. Had Rodgers been a little sharper in his throws Abbrederis would have had much more impressive day. Richard Rodgers chipped in a few short catches, but on the whole, this was all the passing game had going for it, and even though they were on the road and completely outgunned, it was almost enough. Maybe with one more receiver it would have been.

Then again, maybe a better punter would have turned the tide. Tim Masthay came into this game on a bit of a hot streak, but in a playoff game with everything on the line he had what may be his worst game of the year. His first punt traveled a mere 37 yards. Some have suggested to me that the presence of Patrick Peterson led to Masthay intentionally kicking high, shorter punts to prevent long returns. The only problem with this theory is that on his first 35-yard punt, Peterson returned it 12 yards, leaving Masthay with a net of 25, and the Cardinals just 42 yards away from the end zone. They drove right down a very short field and took an early 7-0 lead. On his next punt was just 35 yards but at least he induced a fair catch, and the defense even held the Cardinals to just 6 on their next drive and forced a punt. Arizona punter Drew Butler boomed a 55 yarder the trickled out of bounds at the Green Bay 5 yard line, and just like that, field position was flipped.

The Packers had two field goal drives of over 70 yards, each of which exceeded seven minutes, and both of which started well inside their own 20 yard line thanks to the efforts of Drew Butler. Had Masthay been able to flip field position at some point, one or both of those drives may have turned into touchdowns. Instead, touchdowns came via the big play. Eddie Lacy’s 61-yard run, after being bottled up all day, set up an 8-yard strike to Janis, who would later score another on his own set of big plays. There is nothing wrong with the big play, and on a different day these would have been the difference in the game. Instead, the Packers were stymied on their two best drives of the game, and the Cardinals made them pay.

Defense

Without an extremely strong performance from the defense all of those heroic offensive plays wouldn’t have amounted to anything. Historically Carson Palmer has struggled with pressure. He’s not terribly mobile and making him move in the pocket usually throws him off. This year he had been much better against pressure, seeing his hot reads, and getting the ball out quickly to Fitzgerald and company. On Saturday night Dom Capers called one of his best games and we saw the return of vintage Carson Palmer, as he was clearly rattled by the relentless pressure provided by Mike Daniels and company. Daniels, Julius Peppers, and Nick Perry all got to Palmer at some point, and Palmer was hurried on 15 of his 41 dropbacks.  Palmer was uncharacteristically inaccurate and was picked off twice, one by Clinton-Dix and once by Randall, but it could have been so much worse. Sam Shields dropped at least 3 interceptable passes, any one of which would have swung the game. Still, it was a dominating defensive effort that will always be tainted by the breakdown in overtime allowing Larry Fitzgerald to scamper 75 yards after he was left completely undefended.

They were even dominant in run defense with Morgan Burnett in particular selling out to help hold David Johnson to just 35 yards on 15 carries. Ultimately, Palmer and Fitzgerald simply made too many plays, and too many of the little things (uncalled penalties, called penalties, tip drill touchdowns), went against the Packers. While it was a deflating loss, it was also a great effort by an undermanned squad, and a good game plan by the coaching staff as a whole, and Dom Capers in particular. Let’s not end on a down note, let’s go out with two of the greatest throws I’ve ever seen.

Hail Mary One

At one point on this 4th and 20 play, which started with 55 seconds left and no timeouts, Aaron Rodgers was facing backwards. There was an unblocked rusher coming at him as James Starks picked up an outside rusher instead of the inside guy. In 99.99% of similar scenarios, this game is about to end. Instead Rodgers rolls to his left, squares up, and fires a missile 60 yards downfield, and right into the hands of Jeff Janis. If the throw is any later Janis is destroyed by two DBs. It’s an amazingly athletic play for everyone involved, and while Jeff Janis may have issues understanding the playbook, be excels as a sizable speedster who can go up and get it on a busted play. He is probably just a few inches from breaking this one all the way, but that would have robbed us of the next big play.

Hail Mary Two

Hail Mary’s are ultimately chaotic plays, and I’m guessing most people think that it’s as simple as telling people to go deep, but that is not the case. The Packers deserve a ton of credit for accurately scouting the Cardinals on desperation plays, because had they not done so Aaron Rodgers would have been squished like a bug. You may recall that the last big non-Jeff Janis Hail Mary went to tight end Richard Rodgers. If you take a look at the end zone on this play, you may notice that Rodgers is conspicuous by his absence. Pre-snap, you see Rodgers move Starks to the other side of the formation. He does this because he sees a blitz coming, and he’s right. The Cardinals rushed 7 defenders on this play and very nearly got home, but Rodgers kept everyone into block and was able to roll away from pressure and somehow, and heave a 60-yard moon ball into the middle of the end zone. As good as the throw was on Hail Mary One, this throw is better. I have no idea how Rodgers conjured the strength to make this throw, but watching it just go and go and go was awe-inspiring in real time.

Take a good look at Janis as well. He starts tracking the ball around the 10, possibly expecting it to fall short. He adjusts beautifully, darting into the end zone and boxing out two defenders to make the catch. The only receivers to make the trek into the end zone were Abbrederis, Jones, and Janis. It almost seems crazy to not have the guy who caught the previous Hail Mary run a route, but the Packers anticipated what the Cardinals would do, and only sent as many receivers as they needed. While it did not ultimately lead to victory, it had all of Wisconsin dancing on their couches and screaming in joy, and that’s how I will ultimately remember this game.

(Thank you to @eznark for all of the .gif help this season.)