Aaron Rodgers’ incredible late hail mary for the Green Bay Packers against the Detroit Lions will always go down as one of the greatest finishes in NFL history.  

Whilst Tom Brady might go down as the G.O.A.T when it comes to the quarterback position, and indeed the entire sport of football, one of the few people who have been in a position to challenge him for that title in the past few years has been Aaron Rodgers.

He was made to sit for a couple of years behind Brett Favre in Green Bay after being taken #24 in the 2005 NFL draft, he has more than made up for the time he spent on the sidelines becoming without a doubt one of the most productive and talented quarterbacks that the game has seen.

During his time in the NFL he has put up 61,254 passing yards and thrown 494 touchdowns across the regular and postseason, with the Packers making the playoffs in all bar three seasons that he has been the quarterback, whilst also picking up 4 NFL MVP awards, more than Brady and only second to Peyton Manning on the all-time list. 

On top of all of that, he has the best career touchdown to interception ratio and 4.83:1, perhaps the best metric to show how well he can accurately get the ball to his receivers. 

The master of the deep ball

One thing that Rodgers has become incredibly proficient at during his time in the league has been his use of the long throw, especially when using a ‘hard count’ in order to get the opposing defence to jump offside and earn himself a free play:

But there is one long throw in particular that has gone down perhaps more than all the others during Rodgers’ career, and that came during the 2015 season on the road against the Detroit Lions. 

Another dagger for Detroit

As you would expect for a team he shares the division with in the Lions, he has faced them 24 times in his career, and has put up a record of 18-6 against the men from the Motor City, but this one came in such dramatic fashion that it stands out above the rest. 

With time having expired, the Packers were trying to find a way to get a last minute touchdown, only for Lions defender Devin Taylor to be penalised for a facemask against Rodgers, giving them one last chance to heave the ball towards the endzone.

Despite being under pressure yet again, Rodgers was able to escape and find some room for him to heave the ball towards a pile of players all fighting for the ball, with Packers tight end Richard Rodgers able to come down with it and seal the win:

Just another moment to really show how dominant Rodgers is, especially when it comes to the Lions as a franchise.