Packers say helmet-to-helmet hit ruined final drive

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Packers quarterback Brett Hundley played his best game of the season, but they don’t think he was at his best after a late helmet-to-helmet hit from Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt.

Watt sacked Hundley on the first play of the Packers final drive, which began with the game tied 28-28 and 1:20 left on the clock.

There was no penalty called on the play. On the next one, running back Jamaal Williams took a short pass out of bounds, stopping the clock with 32 seconds left.

“There was a hit on the first play,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. “We all recognized it. The quarterback wasn’t checked. . . .

“The play entry from the boundary went in late because I thought there was a helmet-to-helmet hit on Brett Hundley. You obviously check to see if your quarterback’s OK. 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.

“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.”

Hundley said he didn’t tell Williams to stay in bounds, since the plan was to play for overtime. Instead, the Steelers got another stop, and drove for the game-winning field goal.

“It’s football,” Hundley said. “You’ve got to get up and keep playing. Threw a screen, and we just didn’t communicate with Jamaal … letting him know what the situation is, and that’s on me as the quarterback to let him know and let our offense know what our thoughts are going into the down.”

We’ll see if Hundley turns up in the concussion protocol, as has happened multiple times in recent weeks. But he certainly played his best game since taking over for Aaron Rodgers, passing for 245 yards and three touchdowns.

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