Packers vs. Cardinals 2016 results: Arizona wins OT thriller to advance to NFC Championship

The Green Bay Packers took the Arizona Cardinals into overtime with a series of unbelievable plays, but the Cardinals came out on top with the 26-20 win thanks to the superhuman efforts of Larry Fitzgerald.

With his season on the line, Aaron Rodgers converted a fourth-and-20 play with a 60-yard heave to Jeff Janis. An illegal motion put Green Bay at first-and-15 with 12 seconds left at the Cardinals’ 41-yard line, setting up one final Hail Mary throw. Rodgers nailed Janis on the final play of regulation with a 41-yard touchdown pass, sending the game to overtime.

The Cardinals had the ball to start overtime and Carson Palmer hooked up with Fitzgerald for a brilliant 75-yard catch-and-run, showing off his Hall of Fame credentials and setting up his team at the 5-yard line. Fitzgerald finished the job two plays later, taking a delayed pitch into the end zone to seal the win.

After both teams traded punts to start the game, the Cardinals drove into the red zone and elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the 9-yard line. David Johnson converted it with ease, keeping the drive alive. Three plays later, Carson Palmer threw a perfect fade pass to Michael Floyd, who toe-tapped the sideline to give Arizona a 7-0 lead.

Floyd also took out a cameraman in the process.

The Packers nearly had a great scoring chance when Randall Cobb made an amazing one-handed catch towards the 10-yard line, but it got called back by offsetting penalties (an illegal shift for Green Bay, 12 men on the field for Arizona). The Packers suffered an even bigger loss on that play when Cobb got a chest injury, which kept him out for the rest of the game.

Aaron Rodgers got his team down into field goal range, but he threw an interception to Patrick Peterson on the goal line that was returned 100 yards for an apparent pick-six. However, the interception got taken off the board due to a defensive penalty on Arizona. Green Bay’s drive was kept alive, but it couldn’t find the end zone and had to settle for a field goal.

The Packers’ defense forced another quick stop from Arizona, giving Rodgers the ball back at his own 13-yard line. He proceeded to march 81 yards down the field on 16 plays, but once again Green Bay couldn’t score a touchdown and went for another field goal. The Cardinals went into halftime with a 7-6 lead.

Green Bay started with the ball in the third quarter, but Rodgers threw an ugly pick to Rashad Johnson on the second play of the drive. The Cardinals’ next drive didn’t go any better, with Palmer throwing an interception to HaHa Clinton-Dix.

Eddie Lacy had one of his best runs of the season on the Packers’ next drive, rumbling for 61 yards down to the 8-yard line.

Green Bay finally cashed in on a red zone opportunity, with Rodgers hitting Jeff Janis for an 8-yard touchdown to put the Packers ahead, 13-7.

Palmer drove the Cardinals back inside the red zone, thanks in part to a beautiful 32-yard catch-and-run by Larry Fitzgerald, but they ended up kicking a field goal, cutting the deficit to three points.

After the Packers punted the ball away, Arizona struck back with a 22-yard pass to Fitzgerald, putting the ball past midfield. Palmer had a chance to take the lead back, but he threw his second interception of the night on an ill-advised pass to the end zone that was picked off by Damarious Randall. The Packers couldn’t take advantage of the turnover and punted once again.

The Cardinals started at their own 20-yard line and got down past midfield thanks to a high-effort play by Fitzgerald, who caught a hitch pass and wiggled past a defender, stretching the ball past the first-down marker. Later, Floyd was left wide open on a drag route and picked up an easy first down, which was followed by a strong Johnson run to set up the Cardinals in field goal range. On third-and-4, Palmer hit John Brown on a bullet pass inside the red zone to keep the drive alive.

Palmer played dangerously again, nearly throwing a pick-six to Sam Shields, but he hit Johnson down the middle of the field to set up yet another first down, this time at the 10-yard line. On the next play, Palmer had possibly the most improbable touchdown of his career -- an intended slant pass to Fitzgerald got tipped up into the air, which ended up in the hands of Floyd in the end zone.

Just like that, Arizona had the lead again.

Green Bay got the ball back with 3:44 left, but went three-and-out. Rather than punt the ball back, the Packers elected to go for it on fourth down at their own 25-yard line. James Jones couldn’t hold on to Rodgers’ throw, giving the ball back to Arizona. The Cardinals tacked on a field goal with less than two minutes to go, forcing Rodgers into comeback mode and setting up the wild finish.