Brett Hundley did everything but win Sunday night. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
The Green Bay Packers came close, so very close to upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night and, if you ask Mike McCarthy, a late helmet-to-helmet hit on quarterback Todd Hundley was one big reason they fell short.
With the score tied at 28, the Packers started their final drive at their 18-yard line with 1:20 and one timeout left. Hundley was sacked by T.J. Watt and, as the play unfolded, Hundley tucked his head and the right front of his helmet struck the middle of the helmet of the onrushing Watt. Watt wasn’t flagged on the play and the Packers were left in some disarray.
“There was a hit on the first play,” the Packers coach said (via ESPN). “We all recognized it. The quarterback wasn’t checked.”
McCarthy said he asked Hundley, who lost six yards on the play, if he was okay through the helmet speaker, delaying his play call. Hundley hit Jamaal Williams with a short pass, but Williams ran out of bounds after a short gain, stopping the clock with 32 seconds left.
“The play entry from the boundary went in late because I thought there was a helmet-to-helmet hit on Brett Hundley,” McCarthy said. “You obviously check to see if your quarterback’s okay. That’s a natural reaction in the flow of the game. It might affect how you’re going to call the second play, too. That’s what happened as far as Jamaal. I don’t fault Jamaal for going out of bounds on the second down.
T.J. Watt’s crucial sack had helmet-to-helmet contact, but officials got the rule right by not throwing a flag.https://t.co/4VTBVVcYGn
— SB Nation NFL (@SBNationNFL) November 27, 2017
“Jamaal didn’t know we were out of the two-minute mode. … It’s football. It happens. Hey, I don’t want to see officials make calls in the fourth quarter of a game. It happens sometimes. It happened tonight. That’s the reality of what happened. No excuses. That’s where we were.”
To clarify the hit on Hundley, a "passer" is not the QB, but a player in the act of passing. Even though in the pocket, he's not a defenseless player, especially since he's trying evade tackles and gain yards. There are QB protections, but none of those were violated on this play
— Fᴏᴏᴛʙᴀʟʟ Zᴇʙʀᴀs (@footballzebras) November 27, 2017
The Packers were playing for overtime; the Steelers, who got the ball back with 17 seconds left, drove for the win and got it on a 53-yard field goal by Chris Boswell as time ran out.
It was a tough loss for the Packers, who were heartened to see Aaron Rodgers airing out passes during pregame warm-ups, less than six weeks after having his broken collarbone mended with plates and screws. Behind Hundley, the Packers hardly looked like 14-point underdogs as he threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns and that was clutch enough to prompt NBC’s Cris Collinsworth to say that he didn’t know whether Rodgers would’ve played better than Hundley did against the AFC’s top seed. Which is, let’s pick a family-friendly word, absurd. Still, the kid had a good game and he and the Packers must regroup, with two winnable games looming. They’ll hope to run the table, to borrow a Rodgers phrase, and stay in contention for a playoff berth.
Aaron Rodgers casually throwing 35-yard passes. Appears to be trending in the right direction with that collarbone #packerspic.twitter.com/9YFW6jCchi
— Chase Williams WPXI (@chasepwilliams) November 26, 2017
As for Rodgers, who was throwing passes of 35 and 50 yards before the game, he is on schedule for his recovery. He can return to practice later this week and, if his collarbone has healed when he is eligible to come off the injured reserve list Week 15, he and the team will decide whether his health and the playoff situation in a tough NFC warrant the risk.
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