Vikings Rewind: Rodgers-to-Rodgers TD

The situation: Tied at 7, the Packers face a 1^st and goal at the 1 with 5:30 left in the first half.

The context: Vikings rookie quarterback had just thrown an interception on the previous drive to give Green Bay great field position. The Packers complied 53 yards on four plays in 2:19 to set up a scoring opportunity.

The result: Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers connected with tight end Richard Rodgers for a one-yard touchdown to take the lead.

How it happened:

The Vikings were in their goal line package, countering a three-tight end, "I" formation look from the Packers. The Vikings had five down linemen, with nose tackle defensive tackles Tom Johnson and Shamar Stephen lined up at the three-technique spots outside the offensive guards.

The Packers sent rookie tight end Justin Perillo (circled in red) in motion to the left side of the formation. Safety Harrison Smith (circled in blue) followed Perillo, which my seem insignificant now but played a part in the result.

It was a play action pass, with Rodgers selling the run play with running back Eddie Lacy but instead rolled out to his right. The run, particularly with the down and distance and the formation, was the obviously call in this situation. But as Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said last week, the Packers' playcalling can be unpredictable and difficult to stop. Note where Smith (circled in red) was positioned at this point of the play.

That breakdown led to this, a wide open Richard Rodgers on the other side of the field. There's really nothing else to gain from this snapshot other than how ridiculously wide open he was on this play. It's astonishing.

"It's a tough play and a good design by them and sometimes you just get beat," rookie linebacker Anthony Barr said.

What's even more impressive was the throw. Rodgers had pressure from defensive end Brian Robison and Barr, yet somehow threw a dime while fading away on the throw.

"I don't know how he saw the guy in the corner of the end zone with pressure in his face," Barr said. "He just kind of snuck out, unnoticed and was able to make a play."

It was a perfect, and incredible, throw to give the Packers the lead.

My initial instinct during the game was to blame Hodges because Smith tracked Perillo while in motion, signaling man coverage. But Zimmer said on Monday, "It doesn't necessarily have to be a linebacker that messed up."

That's where it gets tricky trying to assess "blame" on a player for a blown assignment when there could be multiple dimensions of that assignment after Perillo went in motion. Perhaps Smith was supposed to play off Hodges, who appeared in good position prior to Smith jamming Perillo in the end zone.

Zimmer comment lead me to believe it wasn't as simple as just blaming Hodges. However, it appeared both were at fault for allowing the easy touchdown and failing to communicate on the play.