Pack beat Colts with furious finish

Posted by Mark Daniels on

It was a second half that probably put Packers nation to sleep but the final 4 minutes had enough excitement to keep fans up all night as Green Bay rallied past the Indianapolis Colts 24-21 scoring 11 points in the final :35.   Third string quarterback Graham Harrell scrambled wildly and found rookie tight end Ryan Taylor in the end zone on 4th and 10 from the Indianapolis 11 yard line with :35 to go in the game pulling the Packers to within 21-19.  The same pair connected on a two point conversion and then head coach Mike McCarthy called for an onside kick that was executed perfectly as Mason Crosby's kick was recovered by M.D. Jennings.  A 12 yard completion to Tori Gurley and an 8 yard grab from D.J. Williams set up Crosby's game winning 50 yard field goal at the gun.  Crazy. The fantastic finish covered up a few shortcomings from arguably the most important Pre-Season game for the starting units.  Aaron Rodgers played the entire first half and produced 216 yards of offense but only 10 points.  He completed 19 of 23 passes for 204 yards and an 18 yard touchdown down the middle to Jermichael Finley that opened the scoring on the Pack's second series, an 80 yard, 10 play march.  But Rodgers was sacked four times and reached the Colt's red zone twice but Crosby made a 26 yard field goal and missed from 41.  The running game offered little to write home about, totaling just 45 yards on 19 carries.   The defense had two ugly broken coverages, one allowed Reggie Wayne to run free up the left sideline for a 57 yard touchdown.  Pierre Garcon hauled in a 36 yard strike from Curtis Painter that set up the Colts second touchdown, a 7 yarder that gave Indy a 14-10 halftime lead.   In the second half,  Vic So'oto's sack forced a fumble recovered by Jarius Wynn at the Colts 20 but Matt Flynn couldn't generate a first down and the Packers settled for Crosby's second field goal.  Both offenses deteriorated by the 4th Quarter with 6 consecutive three and out series.  Backed up in their own end, Harrell was intercepted over the middle by Mike Newton who returned the ball to the three.  On the next snap, former Wisconsin Badger David Gilreath hauled in Dan Orlovsky's three yard pass for a touchdown making it 21-13 Colts.  That only set up Harrell's heroics on a 73 yard, two minute drill touchdown drive.  That drive was helped considerably by backup safety Chip Vaughn who was penalized 15 yards on back to back plays, a late hit on Ryan Taylor followed by a taunting penalty for showing up Kerry Taylor after a dropped pass. The penalites moved the ball from the Colts 37 to the 11 yard line and led Indy coach Jim Caldwell to angrily yank Vaughn from the game.  Green Bay outgained Indianapolis 345-291 but the Packers were a miserable 3 of 16 (19%) on third downs and just two of five in the red zone.  Despite the warts, a memorable finish for a forgettable exhibition and the 2-1 Packers wrap up the Pre-Season next Thursday night hosting the Kansas City Chiefs at Lambeau.  On the link below, comments from Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers.

Packers beat Colts at the gun

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