Detroit Lions: Remember the time Titus Young caught a Hail Mary?

Shaun Hill‘s finest hour

A Lions game featuring a two touchdown comeback in the final 80 seconds, and Matthew Stafford wasn’t the one leading it?

After going down 41-27 on a Brandon Pettigrew fumble with 1:18 to play, Stafford came up limping during the return for a touchdown and then called it a day.

The stadium emptied at that point, with few considering the prospect that the career backup might throw for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns despite not even entering the game until after the two minute warning. Hill must have used up all his coupons with the football gods during the furious comeback though, as a mishandled snap on the final play of the game stuffed his attempt at a QB sneak.

Conspiracy of improbabilities

Think about some of the most exciting but unlikely plays, the ones that you see every once in a while, but only if you watch enough games

• Completed pass that gets stripped and then taken 70+ yards for a touchdown the other way.
• Kickoff return of 100+ yards for a touchdown.
• Successful onside kick recovery.
• Successful Hail Mary pass.

All of these things happened in the final seven minutes of the Lions-Titans game, and then there was still overtime left to play.

Throughout the entire 2012 NFL season, there was only one fumble return longer than Alterraun Verner on Pettigrew. Darius Reynaud’s kickoff return was one of only six that were 100 yards or more during that year. There were only two successful onside kicks in the 4th quarter of 2012 NFL games (and six overall), and Titus Young‘s catch on the final play of regulation was the only last second Hail Mary.

Of all that in less than half a quarter of football.