Why they lost: Green Bay Packers fall to Arizona in OT
By Kenn Korb
Tip-catch TD
In a game of lucky breaks both ways, we saw one of the bigger momentum swingers here.
Green Bay was up 13-10, and had been playing mostly well on defense. The only major lapse had been of mere inches early, with Michael Floyd finding some space in the back of the endzone with the timing of the coverage slightly off. The Packers had also just come close to yet another interception of Palmer on a day where he’d been throwing up some ducks.
Palmer dropped back to pass on third down, and looked for Larry Fitzgerald on a quick slant. It was covered handily by impressive rookie Damarious Randall, who ended up tipping the ball away.
The ball somehow flew ever so slowly right over a couple Green Bay defenders….and into the waiting hands of Mr. Floyd.
This didn’t sink Green Bay (though it felt like it at the time), but it definitely changed the complexion of the game, putting a Packers team that had been in decent position for most of the game into immediate catchup mode with little time remaining.
Had they either held them to a field goal or ended up with the ball in their own hands on that tip drill, Green Bay is looking at either a 13-13 tie or 13-10 lead with the ball and about four minutes remaining; with the way the defense had been playing (and the fact that the offense had shown an ability to hold extended drives — if not necessarily finish them) this almost certainly could have given Green Bay what they needed to come away with the win.
Alas, that’s just how things go sometimes; a simple tip of a ball (and where it eventually lands) can be major in the outcome of a game.
Next: Blown Opportunity