Football fans everywhere were given the game of a lifetime when the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals faced off Saturday night in the NFC Divisional Game.

The Packers lost wide receiver Randall Cobb in the first quarter due to a chest injury, as reported by ESPN.GO.com in their game recap, when they were already down a key wide receiver, Davonte Adams, putting them in a weak starting position. The Packers would put up a good fight despite losing these players and both teams would play with skill for the majority of the game. However, a play towards the end of the fourth quarter changed everything, capturing my, and most fans around the world’s, attention. A series of very strange events that will probably be repeated only once more in the next 100 years lead to a Cardinals touchdown, putting them in the lead 17 - 13 with 3:44 on the clock. Packers fans would agree that this is plenty of times for the veteran Rodgers to make something happen, but it did seem as though luck was not on their side.

Fans would soon be disappointed again as the Packers couldn’t convert on a key fourth down, leaving Arizona in field goal position; Catanzaro easily secured a now hefty lead of 20 - 13 for the Cardinals. With 1:55 still on the clock, all hope was not lost though for cheeseheads everywhere. Fans, myself included, held their breath until their was only 55 seconds left in regulation and it seemed that Rodgers simply didn’t have anymore magic left in him.

It was fourth down and 20. The mood was somber. Then, amazingly, Aaron Rodgers managed to complete a 60 yard pass to Janis, securing a spot at the 36 yard line, well within scoring range. The stadium erupted in cheers as glimmer of hope seemed to reappear.

It was an amazing completion that would unfortunately be followed by an incomplete pass, to which my dad and probably several other fans announced, “Well that’s Rodgers done.”

In that certain doom, the unthinkable happened.

Five seconds were left on the clock. Certainly even Rodgers couldn’t get lucky enough to complete two Hail Mary’s, right? But after some scrambling the ball was launched safely into the hands of Janis who secured a touchdown despite close coverage from two safeties for the Hail Mary of the century. And so ended regulation times with cheers from a sea of yellow and green.

Their cheering, however, would soon end. The Cardinals would go onto win the game with a series of incredible plays starting with a 75 yard run by Larry Fitzgerald. Carson Palmer, a player not known for his flexibility in the pocket, successfully found Fitzgerald wide open after severe pressure from Green Bay’s defense and did not hand the ball to any other player, until, after a shovel pass, Fitzgerald found himself safely in the end zone for an Arizona win.

This game was filled with emotional ups and downs; I mean, the referee failed at flipping the coin after what could be the play of a life time for crying out loud! And while I cannot claim to be a Packers fan, nor a Cardinals fan (I’m from New York, so naturally I’m a Giants fan!), something certainly should be said for the way the Packers played that night.

Despite all odds, the Packers never gave up. No matter how much the clock pressured them or the odds seemed just too slim, they never gave up. They went out there and gave it all they had, 110 percent. It was this heart that allowed for such an amazing pass to be completed in the closing seconds of regulation time.

Regardless of the outcome, the Packers have nothing to be sorry for - they gave it all they had and that’s all you can ask. If each of us approached the problems in their life with the tenacity the Packers showcased in the last three minutes and 44 seconds of this football game, nothing could ever get in the way. Saturday night, the Green Bay Packers proved that it's never too late for a hope, a prayer, and a Hail Mary.