Written by Wes Hodkiewicz at Packers.com
Mason Crosby saw the release, but not the target.
Moments before his eventual game-winning field goal, the Packers’ veteran kicker was jostling for a spot on the sideline to watch what Aaron Rodgers might have up his sleeve on third-and-11 with less than a minute left in Sunday’s game against Chicago.
Crosby watched the play develop and the deep ball exit his quarterback’s hand, but he didn’t know who it was intended for until Jordy Nelson’s No. 87 flashed underneath the ball as it descended.
It was the pass that defined the Packers’ season – a 60-yard heave from Rodgers to Nelson that set up a 32-yard field goal for Crosby to seal a 30-27 win over the Bears and allow Green Bay control of its own playoff destiny.
“I couldn’t believe when Aaron let that ball go,” Crosby said. “I didn’t anticipate Jordy running right underneath it. I couldn’t see him. I went back over and got one more kick in the net and knew we were going to go win it.”
What Crosby missed was Nelson gaining a step on Bears cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc 15 yards downfield and throwing up his arm to signal Rodgers to throw the ball deep over his shoulder.
In a blink of an eye, Rodgers uncorked a pass to his longtime target. Battling below-zero wind chills, Nelson tuned out the world and looked the ball into his hands for what will go down as one of the biggest completions of the 2016 season.
As Crosby turned to get in one more practice attempt, the offense sprinted downfield to spike the ball with 3 seconds remaining. Teammates started to celebrate but Nelson didn’t smile.
“I know we didn’t have timeouts,” Nelson said. “Aaron did a great job of keeping everyone calm and understanding the situation. Obviously he knows what he’s doing out there. We all got lined up, make sure we’re all set, clocked it. Other guys on the sideline were happy but I need to see the ball go through the uprights before I got too excited.”
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