Great play design, a fantastic individual effort from Kraft, and a big momentum shift put this play at #6.
Acme Packing Company’s countdown of the Top Plays of the Green Bay Packers’ 2024 season continues on today with a massive, game-changing touchdown. Tucker Kraft had a late-season breakout as a rookie in 2023, but his 2024 campaign truly cemented him as the team’s tight end of the future.
Perhaps no play better encompasses Kraft’s athletic ability and run-after-the-catch skills than this play from week five, which remains the longest reception of his career to date and shifted the momentum in a critical game in early October. Here’s the play that, for those reasons, ranked #6 on our 2024 countdown.
The Game
The first four games of the Packers’ 2024 season were bizarre. First came a trip to Brazil and a narrow loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles, which saw Jordan Love get injured late in the game. Then Malik Willis came in and led the team to a pair of victories in relief, beating the Colts and Titans. Love’s return in week 4, at home against Minnesota, saw the Packers start slowly and rally in the second half, falling just short in a 31-29 loss.
That left the team at 2-2 at the start of October as they traveled west to face the Los Angeles Rams in week five. Meanwhile, the Rams were without their top two receivers, Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, and had just lost to the Chicago Bears the week before to fall to 1-3.
The Situation
A back-and-forth first half saw the teams trade rushing touchdowns before Love made perhaps the most bizarre and inexplicable decision of his young career. Trying to throw the ball away out of his own end zone, Love could not get the football out of bounds and instead it landed in the hands of safety Jaylen McCollough for a four-yard pick-six and a 13-7 Rams lead. The Packers closed the gap to 13-10 at halftime on a last-second Brayden Narveson field goal.
The Rams drove into Packers territory on the opening drive of the second half, but Lukas Van Ness forced a fumble by Kyren Williams, and Xavier McKinney recovered for a turnover. After a first down run by Josh Jacobs went for four yards, the Packers faced a 2nd-and-6 from their own 34-yard line.
The Play
Green Bay set up in 11 personnel, but with Jordan Love flanked by Jacobs to his right and Jayden Reed to his left in the shotgun. Tucker Kraft is aligned on the right side of the offensive line, while Dontayvion Wicks and Bo Melton are split to the left.
At the snap, the running backs both cross the formation. Love fakes a handoff to Reed, who is running behind him to the right of the formation, while Jacobs crosses in front of his quarterback to the left side of the field. Wicks and Melton release down the field, while Kraft leaks out over the middle and then across to the left side.
The motion in the backfield confuses the Rams’ defense, which seems to forget all about Kraft as the wideouts clear space for him over the middle. Love hits him with a perfect throw just outside the numbers at midfield, and Kraft turns to run upfield, seeing 15 yards of empty space in front of him. Wicks is at the 35 lining up a block on safety Quentin Lake as Kraft sprints up the left sideline.
As Kraft slows down a bit to play off Wicks’ block, cornerback Darious Williams tries to play the angle and bring down the big tight end. Instead, Kraft throws a stiff-arm into his chest and pushes him back, creating separation as he looks to go around Wicks and Lake along the sideline. With Lake engaged, another small stiff-arm from Kraft sends him to the ground as he tiptoes through the tackle attempt and scampers into the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown.
Tucker Kraft with the stiff arm and tuddy!
: #GBvsLAR on CBS/Paramount+
: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/fijvAwHlla— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
The Impact
This play would end up being the Packers’ second-longest touchdown of the season. For Kraft, it was his second score on the year (he had found the end zone the week prior against Minnesota), and he would go on to score seven in total in his sophomore campaign.
Most importantly, this touchdown shifted the momentum early in the second half, giving the Packers a 17-13 lead. After McKinney recorded an interception on the ensuing Rams drive, Kraft scored a second time in the quarter to extend Green Bay’s lead to 24-13, and the Packers went on to hold off a Rams rally for a 24-19 victory.
Starting with this game, the Packers went on to win four straight games and seven of eight during the months of October and November. A team that went 2-2 in September entered December at 9-3 and squarely in the playoff hunt. But if not for this massive play from their do-it-all tight end to take the lead, they might never have gotten the first of those victories.