The Sunday Evening Post: Wild Card Round

Where do we put this game in NFL lore?

It’s only a Wild Card game, but it was a tremendous one; does it slot in above the Music City Miracle or Frank Reich’s comeback? It was a playoff shootout nonpareil -- 96 points, 1,024 yards, twelve offensive touchdowns -- does that send it higher in a ranking of all-time playoff games? Should the quarterback matchup, one old incredibly accurate quarterback matching bullets with the up-and-comer, make it more legendary? How about the second-ranked Green Bay defense’s undressing on the national stage? The Packers’ comeback? Neil Rackers’ missed field goal? The totally unexpected defensive score to end it?

What was this game, other than great?

Well, why does it have to be anything else?

We too often and too swiftly get caught up in things having to be the greatest of all time. We’re a society that subsists on hyperbole and instant history, with a large faction in perpetual Kanye-at-the-VMAs mode, screaming about meaningless distinctions that do nothing but distract from what actually happened.

Is anyone who saw this game going to care what nickname we throw on it? No. Will anyone’s life be altered if this shows up at third on some inane ESPN ranking in the next week? No.

But will anyone who saw this game not remember nearly every detail? There was a great catch nearly every down, enough fluidity of momentum to throw any pendulum off-kilter, and the sort of finish that sears everything into the brain.

Every Packers fan who wrote off a team that fell behind 14-0, 24-7, and 31-10 will remember this forever, for Aaron Rodgers’ moxie, for the defense’s vivisection, for the chutzpah of an onside kick in the third quarter, for Greg Jennings’ catches, the pulses racing before that last kick.

Every Cardinals fan who saw their team nearly blow a 21-point lead will remember this forever, for Kurt Warner’s surgical brilliance, for Larry Fitzgerald being Larry Fitzgerald, for Rackers’ gut-wrenching shanked kick, for their defense’s final stand.

Every neutral fan will remember all of that and that it was a pleasant change from an otherwise blowout-filled weekend.

Every player will remember everything. They will be asked about it thousands of times for the rest of their lives, so it won’t be hard.

It was a great game. Who cares if it’s not the greatest? Settle for unforgettable. This game was that. And it’s enough.

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