On Monday night, the sounds of Hail Mary King rang through the Meadowlands once again.
Aaron Rodgers, who has spent much of his 20-year career perfecting the Hail Mary, became the first Jets quarterback to do it at the end of the first half against the Bills.
The Jets had the ball at their own 48-yard line with eight seconds left in the first half, and Buffalo scored a touchdown 13 seconds later to put the Bills ahead 20-10.
After dancing around in the pocket for a few seconds, Rodgers sent the ball flying into the north end zone of MetLife Stadium, where Allen Lazard, Rodgers' former receiver in Green Bay, plowed past five Buffalo defenders and into a pile of bodies. He came down with the ball inside.
The ball was knocked out of his hands by one of the Bills' defenders, and the fans in the stadium froze for a moment, wondering if the ball had been incomplete.
However, although Lazard secured the ball and landed on the ground, the ball was knocked out of his hands and a “touchdown” was declared after 52 yards.
Three players surrounded Lazard as he jumped: Buffalo cornerbacks Taron Johnson and Christian Benford, and safety Taylor Rapp.
Lazard beat them all to the ball.
It was the fourth Hail Mary of Rodgers' career, and it gave the Jets some fresh air going into the halftime locker room after trailing 20-17.
