Now it's time for the third 2021 NFC Wild Card Game from Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Game time temperature is 27 degrees, with cloudy skies and a west wind at 8 MPH.
The first quarter was scoreless. The Cardinals took the ball after a punt on the first play of the second quarter and drove into field goal range. The key play of the drive was quarterback Kyler Murray's fifteen-yard pass to wide receiver Christian Kirk that gave the Cards a first and goal at the Packers' ten-yard line. The next three plays lost a yard, but kicker Matt Prater booted a twenty-eight-yard field goal that gave the Cards a 3-0 lead with 12:19 left in the second quarter.
The Packers countered with a touchdown. The key plays of the drive were a twelve-yard run up the middle on a draw by running back A.J. Dillon and a pair of Aaron Rodgers passes: a fourteen-yarder to side receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling and a sixteen-yarder to fellow wideout Davante Adams. The touchdown came on a trick play, as the Pack ran the end around from the three-yard line. Wide receiver Allen Lazard took the handoff and walked into the end zone untouched. Kicker Mason Crosby added the extra point, and the Packers led 7-3 with just under seven minutes left in the first half.
The Cardinals answered with a touchdown of their own. Running back James Conner picked up fourteen yards on a draw play, and Murray found wide receiver A.J. Green down the right sideline for twenty-nine yards and a first down at the Green Bay twenty. The touchdown came on third and one from the eleven, as Conner took the handoff on a draw play and charged through a wide-open hole and into the end zone for the touchdown. With 2:04 left in the first half, the Cardinals led 10-7.
There was enough time left in the half for the Packers to attempt a tying field goal. Dillon gained eleven yards up the middle on a draw, and Rodgers connected with Adams on consecutive passes for gains of nineteen and twenty-three. The drive eventually stalled at the Arizona twenty, but Crosby's thirty-seven-yard field goal attempt split the uprights, and halftime came with the Cardinals and Packers tied at ten.
The Pack took the lead with another field goal on the opening possession of the second half. Running back Aaron Jones gained twenty yards with a draw on the first play from scrimmage, and Dillon gained thirteen more with the same play later in the drive. Another Green Bay running back, Kylin Hill picked up nineteen on a sweep around left end. The drive eventually stalled at the Arizona twelve, but Crosby converted a twenty-nine-yard attempt to put the Pack up 13-10 with 8:35 left in the third quarter.
The Cardinals took the lead with a touchdown just before the end of the quarter. Conner gained seventeen yards on a draw play, and Murray ducked out of a potential sack and picked up seventeen more before he was pushed out of bounds. Murray also showed off his arm, hitting wide receiver A.J, Green over the middle for twenty-six yards and a first down at the Packers' twelve-yard line. On second and nine from the eleven, Murray found tight end Zach Ertz in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown. Prater added the extra point, and at the end of three quarters the Cardinals led 17-13.
The Packers got back to within one point early in the final quarter when Crosby kicked his third field goal of the night from twenty-two yards out to cut the Arizona lead to 17-16. The biggest play of the drive came when the Green and Gold faced a second and nine at the Arizona forty-one. Here's how Brent Musburger called it:
"Packers need to make some hay here, as we're down under the twelve-minute mark. Rodgers in an empty set, goes full shotgun, and here comes the rush....gets away from (J,J,) Watt, fires downfield.......CAUGHT ON THE RUN! LAZARD AT THE FIFTEEN, TEN, FIVE, AND HE STEPS OUT BETWEEN THE ONE AND THE TWO......They'll give him the one-yard line! First and goal, Packers!"
The Packers took the lead midway through the fourth quarter. Rodgers' sixteen-yard pass to Adams gave them a first down at their own forty-five, and that's where we rejoin Brent:
"Under eight minutes left for the Packers, who trail by one, 17-16. A.J, Dillon's the lone setback behind Rodgers, with four receivers in the pattern. and he'll get the call.....HOLE UP THHE MIDDLE, AND THERE HE GOES INTO ARIZONA TERRITORY! Forty, thirty-five, thirty, ONLY ONE MAN LEFT TO BEAT.....HE'S GONE! TOUCHDOWN, PACKERS! NOW A LAMBEAU LEAP! GREEN BAY HAS THE LEAD!"
Rex Ryan: "The Cardinals had to play pass, Brent, and the Packers knew it. There's the handoff, and Dillon's eyes must have lit up when he saw that hole. You don't even see a Cardinals defender until well past the Arizona forty, and the only one who has even a remote shot at catching Dillon is (cornerback) Byron Murphy. One last burst at about the ten-yard line takes care of that, and even after such a long run, Dillon has the energy to top things off with a picture-perfect Lambeau Leap."
Since his offense had been stopped inside the Arizona five-yard line earlier in the quarter, Packers coach Matt LaFleur decided to kick the extra point instead of going for two, and Crosby converted to put the home squad up 23-17 with 7;34 left in regulation.
The Cardinals began what turned out to be their game-winning drive with less than four and a half minutes left. A seventeen-yard catch-and-run by Conner got the ball to the Green Bay forty-six at the two-minute warning. We pick up the action coming out of the break:
Musburger: "Each team with one timeout left. Cardinals with a first down at the Green Bay forty-six, and they go empty set. Watch Murray, though; he'll take off any time he sees an opening, Snap back to him, he's looking, looking, moving, moving, throws downfield on the run........CAUGHT! KIRK AT THE TWENTY, KIRK AT THE FIFTEEN, AND BROUGHT DOWN AT THE TWELVE AFTER A GAIN OF THIRTY-FOUR! WHAT A PLAY BY KYLER MURRAY AND CHRISTIAN KIRK!"
Conner took care of business from there. Here's Brent:
"First and ten from the twelve, and we'll see if Green Bay decides to let the Cardinals score if they can to preserve some time for Rodgers. Even if Arizona takes it all the way down before this snap, which they're doing, and takes it in, Rodgers would have about thirty-three or thirty-four seconds left. Play clock down to five, four, three, two, Murray gets it off, handoff to Conner, and they're practically escorting him into the end zone for the touchdown.......! (Cardinals coach) Kliff Kingsbury meets Conner coming of and pats him on the back; the Cardinals had to take the lead when they had the chance, and now they have to stop Aaron Rodgers. Thirty-four seconds on the clock, one timeout for Green Bay."
Ryan: "I agree with the strategy, Brent, Both sides handled this well. The only problem for Green Bay is that thirty-four seconds may not be enough, even with Aaron Rodgers and a timeout,"
It wasn't; Rodgers threw three incomplete Hai Marys, and the Cardinals had wrapped up a 24-23 upset win.
Conner was named Player of the Game by ESPN, He led the Big Red in rushing with seventy-six yards on fourteen carries and scored two touchdowns, and it was his catch-and-run (his only reception of the night) jumpstarted the game-winning drive, Murray finished thirteen of twenty-three for 226 yards and a touchdown, and he also carried six times for twenty-nine yards. Green was the leading Arizona receiver with 103 yards on just four catches. and Kirk added three catches for sixty-one yards. Linebacker Isaiah Simmons led the defense with nine solo tackles, and middle linebacker Jordan Hicks had eight solo tackles and sacked Rodgers twice. The Cardinals as a team sacked Rodgers four times. They also played a penalty-free game.
Like Murray, Rodgers completed thirteen of his twenty-three passes, but he only threw for 215 yards, Adams led all receivers with eight catches for 115 yards, and Lazard finished with seventy-one yards on just two catches. Dillon led all rushers with ninety-eight yards on twelve carries with a touchdown, and Jones added seventy yards on thirteen carries. The Packers as a team rushed for 210 yards on thirty-six attempts, an average of 5.8 yards a carry.
The Cardinals have just five days to get ready for their next game, which is a Divisional Playoff date with the top-seeded Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Kickiff is scheduled for Saturday (January 22) at 8:15 PM Eastern on Fox. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will call the action, with Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi acting as sideline reporters.
Next: The Cowboys host the Cardinals.
Thoughts?