Advertisement

Packers Win in Last Minute, 24-21 : NFC: A one-yard touchdown pass play with 16 seconds left lifts Green Bay over Phoenix.

Share
From Associated Press

Green Bay quarterback Don Majkowski goes by the nickname “Majik.”

And now, Packer backup quarterback Anthony Dilweg has adopted a similar moniker.

“Just call me ‘The Wizard,’ ” Dilweg said Sunday after he led the Packers to a 24-21 victory over the Phoenix Cardinals. “This team has a lot of character. It’s not just me. I just went out there and did my job.”

The Packers (5-5) trailed, 21-10, with 13:14 remaining.

But Dilweg, who entered the game after Majkowski strained his right shoulder nine minutes before halftime, pulled the Packers to within 21-17 on a 15-yard touchdown pass play to Clarence Weathers with 6:20 left.

He then connected with Ed West on a one-yard touchdown pass play with 16 seconds left to give the Packers the win.

Advertisement

“The offense missed Don, but they rallied very, very well around Anthony,” Packer Coach Lindy Infante said. “It was a great win. This gives us another little step to get us into the playoffs.”

Phoenix (2-8), which lost for the fifth consecutive time, gave the Packers the opportunity for victory by turning the ball over on downs at the Packers’ 43-yard line with 2:10 left.

Dilweg, who completed 11 of 21 passes for 134 yards, connected on passes of 19 and nine yards to Herman Fontenot and 16 yards to Weathers before a three-yard run by Herman Fontenot got the ball to the Phoenix one.

Two plays later, Dilweg rolled right and found West in the back of the end zone.

“We had a running play called, but there was 22 seconds left and we wouldn’t have had enough time left if we got stopped, so we changed it to a passing play,” Dilweg said. “We faked left, went right and I saw our tight end (West). He did a nice job to get open.”

The Cardinals tried to salvage a tie on Al Del Greco’s 58-yard field-goal attempt on the game’s final play, but the ball barely reached the end zone.

Cardinal quarterback Timm Rosenbach, completed 17 of 30 passes for a career-high 285 yards and three touchdowns.

Advertisement

Phoenix rookie Johnny Johnson, the NFC’s leading rusher, gained 103 yards in 15 carries despite straining his right ankle early in the game.

Advertisement