Arizona Cardinals beat Green Bay Packers in dramatic overtime finish
Sunday 17 January 2016 23:53, UK
The Arizona Cardinals are one game away from Super Bowl 50 after a remarkable overtime win against the Green Bay Packers.
Larry Fitzgerald scored the winning touchdown to give the Cardinals a 26-20 victory after the Packers had forced overtime with a 'Hail Mary' touchdown pass as time expired in the fourth quarter.
Arizona claimed the lead with 6:58 remaining in the first quarter, Michael Floyd scoring the first of his two touchdowns when he hauled in an eight-yard pass from Carson Palmer.
Mason Crosby cut the deficit to 7-6 with two field goals in the second quarter and the Packers claimed the lead when Aaron Rodgers hooked up with little-used wide receiver Jeff Janis - more of him later - from eight yards.
Chandler Catanzaro cut the deficit to three points with a 28-yard field goal but the Cardinals still trailed going into the final 15 minutes as defences remained on top.
Palmer and Floyd connected for the second time, this time from nine yards, to give Arizona the lead and Catanzaro made it 20-13 with two minutes remaining with a 36-yard field goal.
But there would be plenty more drama to come in Glendale, with Rodgers sacked on the Packers' next drive to leave them facing fourth and 20, a play they had to convert to keep the game alive.
Step forward Janis as Rodgers hurled the ball 60 yards in his general direction, and the wideout - who had two catches for 79 yards in the entire regular season - leapt to grab it and put the Packers in scoring range.
A five-yard penalty pushed them back to the Cardinals' 41-yard line with five seconds remaining, leaving Rodgers with no option but to throw up another 'Hail Mary' to try and tie the game.
When the ball came down it was that man Janis in the right place to make the catch and, with Mason Crosby hitting the extra point, overtime was needed to settle the game. Janis ended the game with seven catches for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
Arizona won the toss to have first use of the ball and they made the most of it as Palmer found Larry Fitzgerald with the very first play of overtime and the veteran wide receiver brushed off a series of tackles to gain 75 yards.
After one incomplete pass, Palmer used a shovel pass to Fitzgerald on second down and the 32-year-old did the rest as he scored from five yards out to send Cardinals fans into delirium - they will face either the Seattle Seahawks or Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship game next weekend for a place in the Super Bowl.
Watch the Carolina Panthers take on the Seattle Seahawks on Sky Sports 2HD from 5.30pm on Sunday.
