Page 20 - ATD 05 DEC,2015

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SPORTSSaturday 5 December 2015
Hail, Hail!
Packers beat Lions 27-23 on Rodgers-to-Rodgers Hail Mary
LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
DETROIT (AP) — Aaron
Rodgers threw a 61-yard
touchdown pass to Rich-
ard Rodgers with no time
left to give the Green Bay
Packers a 27-23 victory
over the Detroit Lions on
Thursday.
The Packers got the un-
timed down after Detroit
defensive end Devin Tay-
lor was called for grab-
bing Aaron Rodgers’ face-
mask on a tackle on what
would’ve been the last
play.
The Packers (8-4) had lost
four of five. The Lions (4-8)
had won three straight and
blew a chance to sweep
the season series for the
first time since 1991.
Matthew Stafford con-
nected with Calvin John-
son on his second touch-
down pass of the first quar-
Green Bay Packers tight end Richard Rodgers (82) reaches to ter to help Detroit build
catch the game winning pass on the last play of an NFL football a 20-point lead that it
game against the Detroit Lions, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015, in Detroit. couldn’t keep.
The Packers defeated the Lions 27-23. Aaron Rodgers scored on
a 17-yard run with 3:04 left, the Packers another play.
(AP Photo/Duane Burleson) pulling the Packers within
two points.
Stafford connected with
TJ Jones to convert a third-
and-12 from the Detroit 18
after Green Bay called its
final timeout with 2:54 to
go. The Lions needed one
more first down to seal
the victory, but Green Bay
forced them to punt and
got the ball back on the 21
with 23 seconds left.
Following two incomple-
tions, including one in
which Detroit appeared
to get away with pass in-
terference, Aaron Rodg-
ers threw a pass to James
Jones and the ball was
lateraled twice, leaving
the quarterback with the
ball and no one behind
him to pitch to keep the
play alive.
But Taylor grabbed Aaron
Rodgers’ facemask, giving
Aaron Rodgers scrambled
long enough to give his re-
ceivers time to sprint to the
end zone and got to the
outside. The quarterback
threw the ball, perhaps as
high and far as he could,
and his tight end found a
way to get to it in front of
a slew of players from both
teams and leaped for the
catch.
Aaron Rodgers finished 24
of 36 for 289 yards with two
touchdowns.
Stafford was 23 of 35 for
220 yards and two scores.
Detroit went ahead 17-0
after its first three drives
and capped the open-
ing possession of the third
quarter with a field goal to
go ahead 20-0.q