Hail Larry was a National Football League (NFL) Divisional playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals on January 16, 2015.
The game, which was contested at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, became notable after its dramatic conclusion in the fourth quarter and overtime.
The Packers made the playoffs as a Wild Card team, beating the Washington Redskins 35–18 in the first round.
The Cardinals won the NFC West division, and thus were given homefield advantage against the Packers, who they were hosting in the Divisional round.
The game went back-and-forth, with the Cardinals kicking a field goal with just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter to take a 7-point lead.
After running two plays, the game clock was down to five seconds; Rodgers snapped the ball, rolled to his left and threw a Hail Mary pass into the end zone, which was caught again by Janis for a game-tying touchdown.
On the first play, Carson Palmer evaded a sack and threw a short pass across the field to Larry Fitzgerald, who ran the ball to the five-yard line for a 75-yard gain.
The next play was an incompletion; on second down Palmer flipped a shovel pass to Fitzgerald who dove into the end zone for a walk-off touchdown.
The next day, the Arizona Republic printed a full page spread titled "Hail Larry" in recognition of Fitzgerald's performance, while also referencing Rodgers' earlier completion.
The Green Bay Packers had a record of 10–6 in the 2015 NFL season, good enough for second place in the NFC North.
[1] The Packers were led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who had a down year statistically based on his career averages, while also having no wide receiver or running back accumulate over 1,000 yards.
[3] The Cardinals went 13–3 in 2015, winning the NFC West and securing the second seed in the playoffs, behind the Carolina Panthers.
The Packers settled for a field goal at the eight yard line, bringing the score to 7–3, with the Cardinals in the lead.
The drive ended in an eight-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to Jeff Janis, giving the Packers their first lead of the game, 13–7.
After an illegal blindside block late in the drive by Fitzgerald, the Cardinals settled for a field goal, closing their deficit to three.
The Cardinals drove down the length of the field on their next drive, but the Packers intercepted Palmer again, this time in the end zone for a touchback.
Under pressure from the Cardinals pass rushers, Rodgers threw a deep, arcing ball, right before being hit towards the end zone.
[17][18] Janis, who at the time was a relatively unknown player in the NFL, had the most productive game of his career by catching seven passes for 145 yards and 2 touchdowns.
[16] Two other late game moments were mentioned in post-game analysis: a deflected pass caught for a touchdown and the coin toss.
McCarthy went for an extra point to tie the game, instead of going for the victory with a two-point conversion after the Cardinals had suffered a disastrous defensive effort.
[32] Rodgers performance on the last drive has been noted for years, specifically his second Hail Mary pass completion of the season.
[36][37] Rodgers' Hail Mary pass to Janis at the end of the game was also identified as the 48th greatest play in the same rankings.