![]() ![]() Before 1978, the tactic hadn’t been tried because the rules didn’t allow it. On November 12, 1978, the Atlanta Falcons put the play on the football map when they became the first NFL team to win a game with it. The play was described on Twitter and other media as a “Hail Mary” pass, but “Big Ben” would be more historically accurate. In the most stunning finish of the NFL season, the Packers turned a 20-0 third-quarter deficit into a 27-23 triumph. With players from both teams gathering behind him in the end zone, tight end Richard Rodgers positioned himself in front of the crowd and jumped high to complete a 61-yard scoring play. Since a game cannot end on a foul by the defense, quarterback Rodgers, given a reprieve, launched a high rainbow that traveled 70 yards in the air. The Lions appeared to have the game won, only to have it extended by a facemask penalty as the Ford Field clock struck 0:00. That’s what Green Bay star Aaron Rodgers was hoping for Thursday night in Detroit. ![]() A receiver can produce the winning touchdown either one of two ways - by leaping above the crowd to grab the jump ball, or by tipping the pass like a volleyball so that a teammate can catch it. Two or more receivers line up on the same side of the formation, all of them run for the goal line, and the quarterback hopes his pass reaches the end zone. It’s the play football teams try when there’s time on the clock only for one last, desperate heave.
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