News now! Packers stay alive on Hail Mary TD, go to overtime

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Packers tied the game on a 41-yard Hail Mary pass on the final play of regulation, sending the NFC divisional playoff to overtime tied at 20.

Janis’ miracle catch capped an 85-yard drive in the final two minutes, the Packers’ second successful Hail Mary of the season. Janis caught two passes for 101 yards on the final drive, which included a sack and a penalty on Green Bay.

Prior to the craziness …

Starting the fourth quarter on the Green Bay 28, Arizona got a first-and-goal after an 18-yard pass to WR John Brown. But on the very next snap, QB Carson Palmer tried to loft a high fade to the corner of the end zone for Brown, and Packers rookie CB Damarious Randall picked it off.

The Packers responded with two first downs, getting an 11-yard catch by TE Richard Rodgers and a 9-yard run by James Starks, but then had to punt.

The Cardinals got right back to work, hitting Brown for a 21-yard gain just over the outstretched hands of LB Jake Ryan. WR Larry Fitzgerald added a 13-yard pass for a first down across midfield, and a pair of 9-yard passes to WR Michael Floyd and Brown converted on back-to-back third-and-4s.

On first down at the Green Bay 19, CB Sam Shields had a potential interception in his hands on a pass for Floyd, but couldn’t bring it in. A 10-yard pass to RB David Johnson on third-and-10 barely picked up the first down, just inside the 10. On the next snap, a slant pass intended for Fitzgerald was deflected by Randall, and Floyd caught the deflection in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.

The 14-play, 80-yard drive consumed 7:02 and gave the Cardinals a 17-13 lead with 3:44 to go.

The Packers got nothing going on their next drive, as WR Jared Abbrederis couldn’t haul in a third-down pass, and QB Aaron Rodgers threw low to WR James Jones on fourth-and-5, turning the ball over on downs at the Green Bay 25 with 2:38 left.

The Cardinals added a 36-yard field goal just after the two-minute warning, making it 20-13, and bringing the Packers’ season down to one final possession, which started from their own 15 with 1:50 to go.

On second down, Rodgers stumbled trying to get out of the pocket and was sacked for a 10-yard loss by LB Markus Golden, bringing up third-and-long. A deep ball for WR Jeff Janis was incomplete, as a potential pass interference on CB Justin Bethel was not called, making it fourth-and 20. Rodgers then scrambled around in the end zone and found Janis for a 60-yard gain to keep the game alive.

An illegal motion penalty on TE Richard Rodgers backed the Packers up to the Arizona 41 with 12 seconds left. A throwaway under pressure brought the clock down to 5 seconds, and a Hail Mary pass was caught by Janis in the end zone on the final play of regulation. Crosby’s extra point tied the score.