Green Bay beats Giants on last-minute drive
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Tied with less than a minute to play and 80 yards from the end zone, Aaron Rodgers wasn’t going to wait until overtime.
It was the perfect choice for a team pushing perfection.
Rodgers completed passes of 24, 27 and 18 yards in a lightning-quick five-play drive to set up a 31-yard field goal by Mason Crosby on the final play, and the Green Bay Packers remained undefeated and clinched a playoff berth with a 38-35 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday.
“Those are the fun ones when they end up like that,” Rodgers said.
The defending Super Bowl champions (12-0) won their 18th straight game.
“We’ve had a number of games we won by a couple scores,” Rodgers said. “You get the ball on the 20, under a minute, and we get it down there for a chip-shot field goal, it’s very rewarding. It probably (ranks) right at the top.”
Rodgers hit all four of his passes in the 58-second drive that sent the Giants (6-6) to their fourth straight loss, starting with a 24-yard laser to tight end Jermichael Finley just over the hands of rookie linebacker Jacquian Williams.
“I thought it was mine. I thought it was mine,” Williams said after the game.
The second one covered 24 yards to Jordy Nelson down the left sideline and moved the ball to the New York 29. An 18-yard pass to Greg Jennings two plays later moved the ball to the 12. The third toss was a 1-yard loss.
Green Bay called time out with 3 seconds to go, and then Crosby delivered his winning kick.
“It was a huge drive,” said Jennings, who also caught a 20-yard touchdown. “We haven’t had one like that at the end in a while. It was very quiet in the huddle, actually. You could see everybody was focused. It’s great to see what we could do at the end like that.”
Coach Mike McCarthy said the Packers practice the two-minute drive all the time. Having Rodgers at the helm is just a bonus.
“I’m running out things to say about him,” McCarthy said. “He’s a great quarterback. Playing against the pass rush they had tonight, he hung in there and made the plays.”
Rodgers, harassed by the Giants’ front four and sacked three times, finished 28 of 46 for 369 yards. He threw touchdown passes of 7 and 13 yards to Donald Driver and 12 to Finley in addition to the one to Jennings.
The loss was another heartbreaker for New York, which played exceptionally well after being blown out by New Orleans on Monday night.
The Giants tied it on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Hakeem Nicks, and a 2-point conversion run by D.J. Ware on a Manning audible with just under a minute to play.
Rodgers wasn’t going to settle for overtime after a touchback on the ensuing kickoff.
“He’s a great quarterback, but I expect more out of us on defense,” Giants defensive end Dave Tollefson said. “You know, it’s not like Jesus in cleats. He’s Aaron Rodgers. He’s a great quarterback, but we have to do a better job of finishing on defense.”
The Packers clinched the NFC North when Detroit lost to New Orleans.
“We’re 12-0 and we’re focused on that,” said linebacker Clay Matthews who scored on a 38-yard second-quarter interception return. “It’s been something we’ve been talking about since we were 7-0 or 8-0. So we’ll keep going from that.”
For the Giants, everything wasn’t terrible. Dallas also lost, leaving New York a game behind the Cowboys with four games to go. The teams will play twice over that span.
“It gives us relief to know we’re still right in the mix,” said Manning, who was 23 of 40 for 347 yards and three touchdowns. “If we handle our business and win out, we’ll be in the playoffs.”
Manning’s touchdowns covered 67 yards to Travis Beckum and 4 and 2 yards to Nicks. Brandon Jacobs scored on a 1-yard run and Lawrence Tynes kicked two field goals with a 50-yarder in the fourth quarter getting New York within 28-27.
Rodgers hooked up with Driver on a 7-yard TD with 3:34 to go to push the lead to 35-27.
However, Manning hit tight end Jake Ballard on two 15-yard passes and connected with Victor Cruz for 22 yards to set up the tying score that New York thought would send the game to OT.
Packers 38, Giants 35
| Green Bay | 7 | 14 | 7 | 10 | — | 38 |
| N.Y. Giants | 10 | 7 | 7 | 11 | — | 35 |
NYG—Beckum 67 pass from Manning (Tynes kick)
GB—Finley 12 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick)
NYG—FG Tynes 38
GB—Matthews 38 interception return (Crosby kick)
NYG—Jacobs 1 run (Tynes kick)
GB—Driver 13 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick)
GB—G.Jennings 20 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick)
NYG—Nicks 4 pass from Manning (Tynes kick)
NYG—FG Tynes 50
GB—Driver 7 pass from Rodgers (Crosby kick)
NYG—Nicks 2 pass from Manning (Ware run)
GB—FG Crosby 30
A—80,634.
| GB | NYG | |
| First downs | 29 | 24 |
| Total Net Yards | 449 | 447 |
| Rushes-yards | 28-89 | 20-100 |
| Passing | 360 | 347 |
| Punt Returns | 2-6 | 0-0 |
| Kickoff Returns | 3-76 | 5-125 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 1-38 | 1-9 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 28-47-1 | 23-40-1 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 2-9 | 1-0 |
| Punts | 5-44.2 | 4-44.3 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 4-30 | 6-55 |
| Time of Possession | 33:03 | 26:57 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Green Bay, Rodgers 4-32, Grant 13-29, Saine 6-16, Kuhn 2-7, Starks 3-5. N.Y. Giants, Jacobs 8-59, Bradshaw 11-38, Ware 1-3.
PASSING—Green Bay, Rodgers 28-46-1-369, Cobb 0-1-0-0. N.Y. Giants, Manning 23-40-1-347.
RECEIVING—Green Bay, G.Jennings 7-94, Finley 6-87, Nelson 4-94, Driver 4-34, Saine 4-29, Grant 1-17, Crabtree 1-7, Quarless 1-7. N.Y. Giants, Cruz 7-119, Nicks 7-88, Ballard 3-47, Bradshaw 2-9, Ware 2-8, Beckum 1-67, Barden 1-9.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Green Bay, Crosby 43 (WR).