Written by Pablo Figueroa at Sporting Charts
In what seemed like yet another boring Thursday night game to start Week 13 of the 2015 NFL season, the resurgent Lions led the reeling Packers 20-0 in the middle of the third quarter. At that point, it seemed as if Detroit was ready to cruise to an improbable season sweep of Green Bay, leaving the Packers in a tough spot amid the NFC playoff race. After the Packers made it a game and were down by only 2 points, Detroit looked all but certain to win as Aaron Rodgers had only a few seconds left with more than 70 yards to go. And then, it happened:
The untimed down that came after a questionable face-mask call was all that Rodgers needed to complete one of the most improbable wins in recent memory. After all, it was a textbook Hail Mary, with the reigning MVP airing the ball for more than 60 yards before Richard Rodgers caught it in the end zone.
In football lore, a successful Hail Mary may be the single most exciting play, probably rivaled only by the ending full of laterals precluding a touchdown. The difficulty of the play, along with how rare it is, make it a special sight when it is executed properly. In the NFL, we may be lucky if we see one per year.
With this in mind, how does Rodgers’ walk-off bomb rank among the coolest and most important Hail Marys of all time? Today we rank the top 5 according to our calculations. While the rankings are certainly unscientific, these images are bound to resonate with NFL fans all around.
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