This past Thursday night the Green Bay Packers shocked the Detroit Lions – and probably themselves – when they bombed a 61-yard hail mary touchdown pass to win the game. There was controversy involved and the miracle at the end of the game wouldn’t have been possible without the 20-0 hole the Lions put the Packers in, but overall it was a truly special moment.
Unless you were a Lions fan. It was as perfect a pass and catch you could ever ask for on a hail mary play, as everything seemed to fall in place for Green Bay. Whether that helps the Packers get over their mid-season hump remains to be determined, but it was a special moment and easily the most exciting play we’ve ever seen during a TNF game. But was it the best hail mary play ever?
It’s tough to say, but NFL Network recently compiled their own list of what the top-10 NFL hail mary passes to end a game should look like. Some are old, some are new and some may not even belong on the list. Because of that, we narrowed it down to our favorite five. Let’s go over a few of them and then try to decide if this recent Packers miracle is the best ever, or if another is still king:
Flacco Foils Peyton
This one only came a few years ago and it truly was a miracle play, as Joe Flacco and the Ravens upended the Broncos on a deep ball that probably never should have happened. Denver’s safety was supposed to simply contain the play and stay behind the wide receiver, but he foolishly tried to make a play on the ball as if he were a fielder in baseball. That led to an easy touchdown with the pass floating right over his reach. That ended a fantastic first season back for Peyton Manning, who had spent the previous year out of football with a neck issue. It’s an even bigger miracle play when you consider the Ravens went on to win the Super Bowl that year.
Fail Mary
Green Bay was a part of another hail mary try, but they were the ones that got burned the last time in a loss to the Seahawks in Seattle. With time winding down, the Packers were clinging to a slim lead and seemed to have the ‘Hawks right where they wanted them. That didn’t end up being the case, as eventual Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson evaded pressure and uncorked a pass that would go down as one of the most controversial plays in NFL history. There are very mixed takes on what exactly happened, but Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate ended up being awarded a catch that was seemingly a simultaneous catch between him and Packers safety, M.D. Jennings. It was a wild and crazy finish that sparked a fiery rivalry between the two NFC foes and was the cherry on top of a rough go of it for the league’s replacement refs while the regular referees were on strike.
Brett is Brett
Vikings defense end Jared Allen was later quoted as hoping Brett Favre could “just be Brett one time” in his third game with the Minnesota Vikings after spending a long, storied career with the Green Bay Packers. The beauty of Favre’s play was that he stayed mostly in the pocket, slyly avoided a sack and then released a dart throw just before being knocked to the ground. Unlikely most hail mary attempts, Favre’s pass was more of a traditional throw, as he led an open recever streaking in the back of the end-zone. While Favre’s magical touch and ability to move around in the pocket were extremely key on this throw, the wide receiver was able to keep his feet in bounds when he came down with the ball, making it one of the more unlikely and spectacular hail mary passes. There was even added pressure in this one, as the 1-1 Minnesota Vikings could have suddenly been looking at a 1-2 start after a ton of hype was created during the summer about bringing Favre on board. On that one throw, Favre proved that he could still play and Minnesota built a strong foundation for a season that ended in the NFC title game.
The other plays NFL Network took a look at were surely impressive, but it’s tough to beat that crazy Seahawks/Packers “toucherception” or Joe Flacco taking down Manning in a playoff game. Perhaps we’ll forever be prisoner’s of the moment, but it’s awfully difficult not to pick Aaron Rodgers’ recent heroics atop the list.
Think one of the other plays deserves more credit and is the best hail mary pass ever? Let us know in the comments below!
