Aaron Rodgers did it again.
On Monday Night Football, the New York Jets quarterback threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard against the Buffalo Bills.
It was more than just a 52-yard touchdown pass. The throw came as time expired in the first half, making it a Hail Mary throw.
Due to his Hall of Fame resume — from being a Super Bowl champion to a four-time MVP — Rodgers’ skill at successfully completing Hail Mary throws – will more than likely be a footnote.
Rodgers has had two Hail Mary throws at the end of the first half. He has had one Hail Mary in the playoffs to force overtime. And the other Hail Mary was a game-winning touchdown.
Rodgers has also had two of his Hail Mary throws come in the playoffs.
The Miracle in Motown
In the 2015 regular season, Rodgers completed his longest Hail Mary — 70 air yards — to tight end Richard Rodgers on an untimed down.
On the previous play, the Detroit Lions were called for a facemask penalty – giving Rodgers one last chance and an additional 15 yards to get into “Hail Mary range.”
Clutch in the Playoffs
In the same season, Rodgers completed his toughest Hail Mary in terms of just getting the throw off. This one came in the Divisional Round of the 2015 playoffs.
As the Arizona Cardinals sent an all-out blitz, Rodgers left the pocket and threw off his back foot with a defender in his grill.
The football found Jeff Janis in the end zone for Rodgers’ second career Hail Mary.
In the following playoffs, Rodgers connected with Randall Cobb in the back of the end zone against the New York Giants as time expired in the first half.
https://twitter.com/BigMack_4/status/1762355659285176707
Both of these throws were at the line of scrimmage in enemy territory and Rodgers ended up throwing the football from his own territory.
Six years later
On Monday might, Rodgers threw his fourth Hail Mary— to Allen Lazard as halftime expired.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1846003862429487492
Every one of Rodgers’ Hail Mary throws has been cleanly caught – not one throw has bounced around and into the lap of one of his teammates.
And one final fun fact: Rodgers completed a Hail Mary on each of the four NFL main broadcasts – CBS, FOX, NBC, and ESPN.
Outside of a potential interception – the Hail Mary play is the ultimate low-risk, high-reward play. Most quarterbacks never throw one for a touchdown. The few that get one or two are cast aside as sheer luck. But in Aaron Rodgers’ case, it seems like there is some amount of skill involved. Rodgers just knows how to find the endzone when that clock hits zero.
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