By Darin 🏈 10 Seconds of Impossibility
Some football games are forgotten by the next morning; others are etched into the soul of the sport forever. On January 16, 2016, the University of Phoenix Stadium hosted a contest that defied every law of probability. In this NFC Divisional Playoff, the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers engaged in a heavyweight bout that featured not one, but two “miracles” that left the world breathless.
Article from Jan 17, 2016 The Forum (Fargo, North Dakota)
The Duel of Legends
Trailing 20-13 with less than a minute remaining, Green Bay appeared finished. Facing a daunting 4th-and-20 from their own 4-yard line, Aaron Rodgers did the impossible, launching a 60-yard strike to Jeff Janis to keep the drive alive. Seconds later, with the clock at triple zeros, Rodgers evaded a blitz and heaved a 41-yard “Hail Mary” into the end zone. Janis hauled it in between two defenders, silencing the desert crowd and sending the game into overtime tied at 20-20.
Before the extra period could even begin, drama struck at midfield. Referee Clete Blakeman’s coin toss famously failed to flip in the air, leading to a controversial re-toss that eventually gave the Cardinals possession.
What followed was the legendary “Hail Larry.” On the very first play of overtime, Carson Palmer spun away from a certain sack and found a wide-open Larry Fitzgerald. The veteran receiver didn’t just catch the ball; he embarked on an iconic 75-yard sprint, weaving through the Packers’ secondary down to the 5-yard line. Two plays later, Palmer flicked a 5-yard shovel pass back to Fitzgerald for the walk-off touchdown. The stadium exploded as “Larry Legend” was swarmed by teammates, capping an 8-catch, 176-yard masterpiece.
A Legacy of Resilience
The Cardinals’ 26-20 victory remains one of the most thrilling finishes in NFL postseason history. It was a game where the stats—like Rodgers’ desperation throws and Fitzgerald’s yardage—only tell half the story. The “Miracle in the Desert” was about the thin line between a season’s end and football immortality, proving that as long as there is time on the clock and legends on the field, anything is possible.
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