Packers' Rodgers on final play: 'I got scared by something'
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers couldn’t explain why he didn’t throw to a wide-open Randall Cobb on the final play of Green Bay’s 37-29 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
On fourth-and-goal from Carolina’s four-yard line, Rodgers quickly looked away from Cobb and attempted to scramble before throwing a game-sealing interception to linebacker Thomas Davis. The mistake cost the Packers a chance at a score and the resulting two-point conversion attempt, which would have brought Green Bay back from 21 points down in the fourth quarter.
“I had the easy opportunity there for a pitch-and-catch touchdown but I got scared by something,” Rodgers said, via Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I can’t explain it. It was a mistake by myself.”
Down 37-16 with 9:22 left in the game, Rodgers stormed the Packers back, throwing touchdowns to James Starks and Richard Rodgers on back-to-back possessions. After Cam Newton gifted Green Bay an interception with under four minutes to go, Rodgers and the offense had one final chance to get a game once out of reach into overtime.
The Packers advanced to the Carolina four-yard line, setting up a do-or-die fourth down after the two-minute warning. Green Bay came to the line of scrimmage in a different look, with Starks and Rodgers flanking the quarterback in the shotgun, and Cobb lined up just off the left tackle’s left side. The Panthers called timeout to adjust, but the Packers came back with the exact same look.
The play was executed perfectly, with Cobb going in motion from left to right and bursting into the flat. James Jones, the receiver flanked to the right, ran an in-breaking route designed to set a natural pick for Cobb. It worked, and Cobb was left standing all alone in the end zone.
Rodgers just couldn’t pull the trigger.
“It was a great call,” Rodgers said. “When I looked out to Peanut (Tillman) to see if he had eyes in the backfield, because I was worried about him sloughing off and him tackling Randall short of the goal line. Turns out (Jones) kind of ran Peanut into (Kurt Coleman) and Randall was wide open for the touchdown, so that’s disappointing.”
Rodgers went away from the initial read almost immediately, possibly due to pressure from the right side. He came all the way back to his left, where Davante Adams was running a slant against man-to-man coverage, but he again hesitated. It turned into a scramble drill from there, but it didn’t last long. A hoard of defenders caused a panicked throw to the right to Jones, and Davis intercepted it before it had any chance of getting to the veteran receiver.
Just like that, the comeback was dead. The Panthers advanced to 8-0, while the Packers dropped a second-straight game to fall to 6-2.
The FOX broadcast caught Rodgers on the sidelines after the interception, looking at images of the final play on an NFL-issued Microsoft Surface tablet. Clear as day, Rodgers looked to the right of screen, likely seeing Cobb open in the end zone for the first time, before tossing the tablet in disgust.
“I will definitely be thinking about that one on the ride home.”
More from The Sports Daily:
