After Aaron Rodgers beat Detroit with a 61-yard Hail Mary on the final play of the game Thursday night, most people were asking themselves the same question: "What were the Lions thinking on defense?"
As CBS Sports' Will Brinson pointed out in an earlier article, the Lions' defensive formation didn't make much sense on the final play.
For some reason, Detroit had guys all over the field.
Lions coach Jim Caldwell explained after that game that his team was in that formation because he was expecting a lateral play from the Packers and not a 61-yard Hail Mary.
"In that situation we have a couple different things that we do," Caldwell said, via the Detroit Free Press. "That was one where you're kind of looking for more of that pass back and forth kind of thing because of the range."
When Caldwell says "because of the range," he's saying he that thought the Packers would do a lateral play because a Hail Mary would be next to impossible from 61 yards away -- and he had every reason to believe that because before Thursday, there was no indication Rodgers could even throw a ball 70 yards in the air.
As crazy as it sounds, most NFL quarterbacks would likely have trouble making that throw under similar game conditions.
In 2005, Rodgers took part in a distance competition and under perfect conditions, with no pads, he was only able to throw the ball 64 yards accurately.
Rodgers would later throw a 70-yarder in the competition, but it didn't count because it was off-target. Off-target would've lost the game on Thursday.
Anyway, Rodgers was only 23 at the time, so his arm was presumably stronger.
Forget Rodgers for a second though. Even quarterbacks who are known for strong arms have a tough time throwing it 70 yards in the air. In 2008, Joe Flacco, who's widely known to have one of the NFL's strongest arms, threw a ball 71 yards in a similar competition.
Again though, this was done under perfect conditions with no pads and no pressure.
That's what makes Rodgers throw so crazy. Not only did Rodgers throw the ball 70 yards in the air while wearing pads, but there was a ton of pressure on him because it was the final play of the game.
The throw was amazing that Packers coach Mike McCarthy called it the best one he's ever seen.
McCarthy on the Hail Mary: Probably the best throw I've seen in my time in the game. Great throw.
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 4, 2015
It's easy to blame Caldwell for putting his team in the wrong defense, but a lot of credit also has to go to Rodgers, who threw the ball a ridiculous 70 yards in the air and then watched as it landed in the hands of Richard Rodgers to give Green Bay a miraculous 27-23 win.
