Biggest Takeaways from Green Bay Packers' Week 13 Win

The Green Bay Packers earned the win over the Detroit Lions on Thursday night with one of the most exciting plays of the 2015 NFL season, a successful 61-yard Hail Mary that will live on as the Motown Miracle. 

However, even though there are no asterisks next to season records, it's hard to forget that the Packers were at one point trailing the Lions by 20 points and looked generally lost for much of the game. 

The best-case scenario is that this game will serve as a turning point for Green Bay's season, and that they will be able to carry the momentum and the confidence it gave them into the final quarter. 

Let's break down five of the biggest angles from the unforgettable matchup. 

RB John Crockett Should Have Been on the Active Roster Sooner

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Rookie John Crockett was only promoted to the Packers active roster from the practice squad on Thursday, but he wasted no time in making an impact on Green Bay's offense. 

With Eddie Lacy only averaging 0.8 yards on five attempts and James Starks, 1.7 on nine carries, it was clear the Packers needed a spark in the running game in order to avoid becoming one-dimensional on offense. 

Crockett provided that spark. The rookie didn't have a huge game—he totaled 22 yards on five attempts—but it was enough to invigorate the offense. 

"If you had been on our sideline you could see the juice that he brought," head coach Mike McCarthy said after the game, per Bob McGinn and Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "The way his teammates responded to having him go in the game...that is worth a million words."

Crockett was an exciting training camp player, demonstrating why he dons the nickname "Taz" after the Tasmanian Devil. He brought that energy and movement into the offense on Thursday. 

While the Packers could have used a change of pace in the backfield prior to Week 13, promoting Crockett rather than not is still a positive move for them. 

Julius Peppers, Defense Delivered Big Plays When It Counted

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The Packers defense got off to a shaky start against Detroit, allowing the Lions to score 17 points in less than 15 minutes to open. 

But Julius Peppers made a game-changing play that turned the momentum in a big way. 

Late in the third quarter, as the Packers were trailing by 13 points, Peppers forced a fumble on quarterback Matt Stafford and rookie inside linebacker Jake Ryan recovered it.

The play was the catalyst for the 21 points the Packers would go on to get in the next 20 minutes of play. Green Bay recovered the fumble at Detroit's 12-yard line and Aaron Rodgers orchestrated a three-play touchdown drive that culminated in an eight-yard pass to Davante Adams. 

Most importantly, after recovering the fumble Green Bay's defense held Detroit to just a field goal through the rest of the game, giving the Packers offense the opportunity to get back in the game. 

And after the poor start, the Packers defense finished with three sacks, eight tackles for loss, two passes defensed and six quarterback hits. 

Aaron Rodgers and Richard Rodgers Make History

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The 61-yard pass that Aaron Rodgers completed to tight end Richard Rodgers to win the game on Thursday will go down as the longest game-ending, game-winning Hail Mary in league history, per Elias via ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

The best part about the incredible play was that it almost seemed predestined.

Rodgers' and Rodgers' huge game-winning play was foreshadowed by their warm-up together on the field prior to the game, as Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin reported Friday. 

"In the pre-pregame warm ups, I was out there messing around and I threw kind of some moonballs to Richard, as high as I could,” Aaron Rodgers said after the game, per Wilde. "Not 60 yards in the air, but he caught two out of three. So I’m glad he made it three out of four."

The tight end Rodgers' assignment was simply to box out on the play, allowing receiver Davante Adams—who has struggled with drops all season—to jump, per Around the NFL's Chris Wesseling. But Rodgers knew he could catch the ball and, as he says, he "just went for it." 

Thankfully for Green Bay, his gut was correct. 

Despite the W, Play-Calling Is Still Holding Packers Back

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The Packers' fourth-quarter comeback may have saved the win, but there's no mistaking it: Green Bay did not look like a playoff-caliber football team for the majority of the game against Detroit. 

Much of the reason for that had to do with the play-calling, which has been ineffective at many points throughout the season. 

On a small-scale basis, there were the head-scratchers. In the fourth quarter, even as the Packers were quickly approaching the Lions on the scoreboard, they went with a pass attempt to James Starks on 3rd-and-1. 

It was incomplete, but luckily Rodgers connected with Cobb on fourth down to keep the drive alive. 

In the greater picture, though, the game plan still does not appear to be putting the team in position to win. "I don't know how many times I've seen Rodgers drop back and have nobody over the middle this season, but it's a lot," Sports Illustrated's Doug Farrar tweeted during the game. 

The Packers may be missing some players, but they have talented personnel. The offense shouldn't look this bad, and drops aside, play-calling has been one of the biggest weaknesses. 

Coaching Staff Losing Trust in Eddie Lacy

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Eddie Lacy did not receive his first carry of the game against Detroit until the end of the first quarter, when the Lions were already leading by 10 points. 

Over the course of the next few drives, Lacy got a carry here and a carry there, but when he only managed to gain four yards on five rushes before the Packers pulled him. 

Though it was announced that Lacy had left the game with an ankle injury, sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson later confirmed on the broadcast that it was a coaches' decision to bench the running back. 

On Friday, we found out why. 

ESPN's Rob Demovsky reported that Lacy missed Wednesday night's curfew in Detroit, leading to his removal from the game Thursday. But that wasn't all; per Demovksy, on Friday the Packers also worked out another running back from the same draft class: former Denver Bronco Montee Ball. 

Rookie Alonzo Harris, who also reportedly missed curfew, was waived, and the Packers promoted rookie John Crockett from the practice squad. 

Clearly, the coaching staff takes this issue very seriously, and all things considered, Lacy got off somewhat easy. 

"General manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy are giving Lacy the chance to mature, but he needs to meet them halfway," Demovsky wrote. 

Especially given the tenuous nature of the team's playoff chances, every player needs to prioritize preparation and the team. Combining immaturity with a spate of poor play earlier in the year is a disastrous combo for Lacy; he needs to focus as the Packers approach the crucial final quarter.