The Green Bay Packers (8-5) overcame a 20 point deficit against the Detroit Lions (4-8) on Thursday night and may have saved their season with a last minute Hail Mary pass that went for touchdown. With just seconds left on the clock, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a 61 yard pass that was caught to seal the improbable win for the Packers, 27-23.

The Packers have been struggling after starting the season in the undefeated ranks. If they had lost last night to the Lions, their chances of making the playoffs would have been severely dimmed, reports USA Today. In the first half of the game, the Packers were just stumbling all over themselves and couldn’t put together any manner of coherent drive. By the time the first quarter was over, Green Bay was looking at a 17-0 deficit that was looking impossible to overcome.

For a team that had high hopes at the beginning of the season for winning the NFC, the Packers were looking dreadful against a Detroit team that had begun the season at just 1-7. The Lions have struggled and have been a disaster for the last 14 years only compiling one winning season in that entire stretch.

Dropped passes and an offensive game that just can’t seem to get any traction has been plaguing the Packers for their last half dozen games or so. This was a team that was the early favorite to actually win the Super Bowl this season. They looked like the team to beat as they started the season at 6-0. Things, however began to get rather ugly for them after that.

With just 23 seconds left in the game, and the Packers trailing 23-21, there was only time for a couple of plays. Rodgers unloaded on the first two plays but the passes were incomplete. On the last try, however, the play was looking like the last play from the legendary Stanford Band Game. A couple of laterals and panicked moves put the ball back into Rodgers’ hand but he was brought down.

Fortunately for the Packers, Lions defensive end Devin Taylor sacked Rodgers by dragging him down by the facemask. The NFL rules state that a game can’t end on a penalty so the Packers had one final chance to win it. Rodgers went back and fired a Hail Mary up into the air which proved to be the miraculous margin.