Packers: Ranking the five greatest wins of the decade
4. Jared Cook sideline catch sends Packers to NFC title game (2016)
We can’t discuss dramatic game-winners without Jared Cook‘s tiptoe catch on the sideline that set up Mason Crosby‘s walk-off field goal in the 2016 divisional round game against the Cowboys.
Green Bay entered this game on a seven-game winning streak, but it now had to take on Dallas, the No. 1 seed. The Cowboys had beaten the Packers 30-16 at Lambeau Field earlier in the season and now had the benefit of playing at home.
Despite entering the game as underdogs, the Packers started fast and took a 21-3 lead in the second quarter. But in typical Packers fashion, that didn’t last long and the game was eventually tied at 31-31 with just 35 seconds left.
A screen pass to Ty Montgomery went for 17 yards, but the Packers still had work to do.
Then came the play of the season.
Cobb said the final play was not an actual playcall. Rodgers just told each receiver what to do, like a kid drawing in the dirt. Seriously.
— robertklemko (@RobertKlemko) January 16, 2017
Rodgers rolled to his left before throwing a strike down the sideline and on the money to Cook. Cook somehow made the catch while keeping his feet in bounds. It was a 35-yard connection, giving the Packers a chance to attempt a 51-yard field goal as time expired.
Mason Crosby stepped up and, as he so often does, converted to send the Packers to the NFC Championship Game.