Miracle in Motown
Ford Field in Detroit, site of the game
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| Date | December 3, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Carl Cheffers | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS, NFL Network | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Tracy Wolfson | ||||||||||||||||||
The Miracle in Motown was the final play of an American football game between the NFC North divisional rivals Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) that was played on December 3, 2015 at Ford Field in Detroit. On the final play of regulation, with no time remaining on the game clock, Packers quarterback (QB) Aaron Rodgers heaved a towering 61-yard (56 m) Hail Mary pass into the end-zone that was caught by tight end (TE) Richard Rodgers for the game-winning touchdown. The play resulted in a stunning 27–23 come-from-behind victory for the Packers, who had trailed 20–0 in the second half, marking the fourth-largest comeback in franchise history. The game was broadcast on television nationally on Thursday Night Football, a joint production aired simultaneously by CBS and NFL Network.
Before the game on December 3, 2015, the Green Bay Packers had struggled, especially offensively, in their previous games, while the Detroit Lions had found their form since winning against the Packers on the road at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The Packers had lost four of their last five games after a 6–0 start for the season and were in dire need of a change of fortune to reach the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions came to the game with a three-game winning streak, and they still had a chance to become the first team to earn a playoff spot after starting the season 0–5.
Eighteen days earlier, the Lions had ended a 24-year winless streak against the Packers in a road game by beating them 18–16 at Lambeau Field. If they had also defeated the Packers at their second meeting of the season, the Lions would have swept the season series with Green Bay for the first time since 1991.
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