Packers Top Plays of 2024, #9: Love’s laser through DB’s fingertips to a diving Kraft

The 2nd play in our Top 10 of 2024 is an incredible TD pass from week 7.

We’re continuing our journey through the Green Bay Packers’ top 10 plays of the 2024 season as voted on by APC staff with play #9 in our countdown (check out #10 here). For this play, let’s head to Week 7.

The Game

The Packers offense was starting to hit its stride coming off of one of their best wins of the season, beating the Arizona Cardinals 34-13 at Lambeau Field. The week prior the team battled in Los Angeles to beat the LA Rams in a clunky win after starting the season 2-2.

Those wins moved the Packers to 4-2 at this point in the season, going up against CJ Stroud and the 5-1 Houston Texans for Green Bay’s “Winter Warning” game at Lambeau Field. The Texans were on a 3-game winning streak coming off of a 41-21 win against the New England Patriots. I will never understand why this game was in the early time slot.

The Situation

The game started a little rough; the Packers’ first drive ended with Jordan Love making a risky throw that Jalen Pitre tipped for an interception by LB Neville Hewitt who ran it all the way back to the 11 yard line. Thankfully the Packers defense held the Texans to just 6 yards, so they had to settle for a field goal. The Packers went 3-and-out on their 2nd drive and the the Texans started on a drive that saw them cross into GB territory.

Down 3-0 towards the end of the first quarter, the defense came up with a big stop (aka an Xavier McKinney sack that pushed the Texans out of FG range). The Packers offense then went on a nearly 7 minute drive into the 2nd quarter to give us our #9 ranked play of the year. The drive started at their own 8 after the punt from Houston, and the Packers offense ran 12 plays to make it down to Houston’s 14 yard line.

The Play

On 3rd and 3, the Packers went 11 personnel on a no huddle with Love in shotgun with wide receivers Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed out right with Tucker Kraft while Dontayvion Wicks and Josh Jacobs are on the left. As APC’s own Dusty Evely pointed out in his article from October that covers the play, the Texans show that they’re playing man but upon snapping the ball, that’s not the case after Love notices Hewitt not following Kraft up the middle of the field. While the play was more than likely intended to get Doubs free, he won’t be open over the middle in zone.

This leaves a small window for Love to hit Kraft in the end zone and Love lets it rip. It glides over the fingertips of Texans safety Calen Bullock and Kraft is able to make an incredible diving catch on the ball. Touchdown.

In case you wanted an up close look of just how perfectly out of reach this ball was from Bullock, here’s a slow-motion look.

Now, haters might say it was a little *too* close to being picked, tipped, deflected, etc. This includes Bullock himself, who tweeted disputing the pass’s perfection and instead dragged himself by saying it went through his hands (weird strategy, but okay). But I am a Love-r not a hater (get it? because his name is Jordan Lo—forget it) and I’m choosing to believe it was perfect and intentional.

Even taking out the pass’s accuracy dispute, this pass would go on to be the hardest throw in NFL history at 61.98 MPH (no idea how long they’ve been tracking that stat, but at least since 2018 based on that graphic). That in itself is impressive. But also, Kraft making the diving catch helped put the play in the top 10 list. He throws himself across the end zone to catch a literal laser of a throw to put the Packers ahead of the Texans in the 2nd quarter.

The Impact

The Packers desperately needed some life from the offense, and that drive and play put them on the board. The defense held the Texans to a 3 and out on the next drive, then unfortunately, special teams decided they’d like some attention. CB Corey Ballentine muffed the punt and the ball was recovered by Houston, putting the Texans once again on the Packers’ 11 yard line. This time, they got the TD. Without the incredible play from Love and Kraft, the Packers might have been down 2 scores early in the 2nd quarter. The drive gave the offense some rhythm in the 2nd quarter and the teams went on to trade scores (and the lead) through the 4th quarter. The game ended with Packers’ kicker Brandon McManus hitting a 45-yard a field goal as time expired to give the Packers a 24-22 victory over the Texans.