- Speaking of Wilson, he stood next to Justin Bethel tucked in Bethel's locker after the game, quietly talking to the cornerback for a long time.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer hailed wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald as "special" after his performance in overtime settled a thrilling divisional play-off encounter with the Green Bay Packers. On a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, he drove the Cardinals 80 yards, culminating in a 9-yard completion to Michael Floyd on a tipped pass intended for Fitzgerald.
Neither the Green Bay Packers nor the Arizona Cardinals were doing any backflips over the coin flip that wasn't Saturday night when referee Clete Blakeman tried to toss a medallion end over end before the start of overtime in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs. At the goal line Jeff Janis jumped up between Patrick Peterson and Rashad Johnson and somehow came down with it on the "Z" of the end zone. The most recent time they were in Arizona, they had a shortage of offensive tackles, with David Bakhtiari unable to play and Bryan Bulaga going down with an injury in the first half, a major reason Arizona finished with nine sacks.
Rodgers completed 24 of 44 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
The Cardinals play the victor of today's Seattle-Carolina game for the title.
In short, Fitzgerald's still got it, just as much as any player left in the playoffs. He was injured on the final play of the quarter when he made a diving 51-yard catch to the Arizona 3-yard line Saturday night.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers had connected with receiver Jeff Janis for 101 yards on the Packers' miracle game-tying drive at the end of regulation. "It just sat there like a saucer", said Packers linebacker Clay Matthews, who was one of the captains.
The Chiefs had won 11 consecutive games, including a 30-0 victory over Houston in the wild-card round last week for their first playoff victory since 1993.
"It was a roller coaster on the sidelines", Arizona coach Bruce Arians said.
A few plays later, from the Arizona 41, with five seconds left, Rodgers did it a-frickin-gain. He flipped it again without giving Green Bay an opportunity to decide again on heads or tails. I dare say the Packers were robbed.
Two catches on the final drive of regulation in the NFC playoff game between his Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals made him a star.
The most frustrating part for the defense was how well it had played for the majority of the game.
However, another hole developed Saturday, this time at wide receiver. After a nagging knee injury in 2014, it seemed like Larry's career might be coming to an end...then came the 2015 season. From late in the first quarter until a half-minute remained until intermission, the Packers ran off 34 plays to the Cardinals' five and completely stole momentum, even if they trailed 7-6 at the break. Palmer was picked off twice - once by Randall and once by safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix - and through the first half, Fitzgerald had been held to one catch for 6 yards. "You've just got to keep all of your emotions in check".
The Packers (11-7) took the kickoff but went nowhere and turned the ball over on downs, setting up Chandler Catanzaro's 38-yard field goal that put Arizona up 20-13. The opportunistic Packers took advantage of the reprieve to pull within 7-3 on a 28-yard field goal by Mason Crosby.
That's the known; the unknown is who the Cardinals' opponent will be and where the game will be played.
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