Raise your hand if you called the first touchdown on Thursday Night Football coming not from an Aaron Rodgers-to-Jordy Nelson touchdown pass, and not from a Jay Cutler-to-Brandon Marshall touchdown pass, but from a Tim Masthay-to-Tom Crabtree touchdown pass.
Just after the two-minute warning in a defensive struggle between the Bears and Packers at Lambeau Field, it was Crabtree, Green Bay’s backup tight end, who scored the game’s first touchdown on a fake field goal. Masthay, the Packers’ punter and holder, calmly took the snap from the field goal formation and flipped the ball to Crabtree, who had a clear path to the end zone.
The fake field goal was beautifully drawn up, and the blocking was perfect: The Packers got a seal here and a seal here, and Crabtree just had to run the play in the alley.
Both teams’ offenses have struggled tonight, but Jay Cutler and the Bears’ offense have looked, frankly, terrible. Crabtree’s touchdown gave the Packers a 10-0 lead late in the first half, and the way the Bears’ offense is playing, ten points might be enough for the Packers to win this game.
