Packer Central

Randall Cobb’s Five Greatest Moments With Packers

With Randall Cobb going into TV as an SEC Network studio host, let’s take a trip down memory lane with five of Randall Cobb’s greatest moments as a receiver with the Packers.

Jacob Westendorf

Randall Cobb sent the Green Bay Packers to the playoffs with this game-winning touchdown at the Bears in 2013.
Randall Cobb sent the Green Bay Packers to the playoffs with this game-winning touchdown at the Bears in 2013. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Former Green Bay Packers receiver Randall Cobb made some free-agent news on Thursday as training camps are set to begin around the NFL.

Instead of being in a camp, Cobb will find himself on television. He signed with ESPN’s SEC Network as a college football studio analyst. He’ll also appear on other editions of SEC Now throughout the season.

Cobb ranks fifth in franchise history with 532 receptions. Cobb had a flair for the dramatic during his 10 seasons in Green Bay. Here are his five best moments with the Packers.

5. Third-Down Conversion Clinches Playoff Win vs. Dallas

Cobb’s finest season included one of his finest moments in the postseason.

A divisional-round matchup against the Dallas Cowboys in 2014 is much more famous for another receiver making/not making a catch late in the game.

After Tony Romo’s pass to Dez Bryant was ruled incomplete, the Packers took over on downs with 4 minutes remaining. With two first downs, they could run out the clock and advance to the NFC Championship Game.

Aaron Rodgers connected with Davante Adams for one. Then, facing third-and-11, Rodgers went to one of his most trusted targets.

Rodgers’ pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage but had enough on it to get in Cobb’s range. Cobb did the rest, making a diving catch for a first down before firing the ball through the back of the end zone in celebration.

The Packers won 26-21 to move on to the NFC Championship Game, where they’d lose a heartbreaker in Seattle.

4. Hail Mary Answered Again

One of Rodgers’ most famous traits was his ability to complete the Hail Mary.

With the offense struggling in a 2016 wild-card game against the Giants, Rodgers rolled to his right looking for one final play before halftime.

Rodgers unloaded and Cobb waited as the ball sailed toward the back of the end zone. 

When the ball came down, it was in Cobb’s arms and a tenuous 7-6 lead turned into a 14-6 lead that left the Lambeau Field crowd rocking.

Famously, Packers play-by-play man Wayne Larrivee exclaimed, “Hail Mary! Answered again!”

Cobb would score two more touchdowns that day, dominating against the Giants’ top ranked pass defense in a 38-13 romp.

3. Opening With a Bang

Cobb’s career with the Packers could not have started better.

In his NFL debut against the Saints in the 2011 opener, Rodgers connected with Cobb on a slant – it was not the right route – and Cobb did the rest for a 32-yard touchdown that gave the Packers a 21-7 lead late in the first quarter.

That would have been good enough for an opening act, but Cobb’s encore was even better. With the Saints pulling within 28-20 in the third quarter, Cobb fielded a kickoff 8 yards deep in the end zone and found room up the left sideline.

With the help of John Kuhn, Cobb survived one tackle attempt, but was only tackled by his own teammate after he crossed the goal line. A record-setting 108 yards later, the Packers had a sign that their second-round draft pick had something special in his game.

2. It’s Randall Cobb … Again

Perhaps the most famous comeback in Rodgers’ career was capped by his good friend.

In the 2018 opener at Lambeau Field against the Bears, the Packers trailed 17-0 at halftime. With Rodgers carted off the field after suffering a knee injury in the first half, it looked like his night – at a minimum – was over. Instead, Rodgers led a legendary rally.

Without his trademark mobility, Rodgers went to work from the pocket, throwing touchdown passes to Geronimo Allison and Davante Adams to pull the team within one score, 20-17.

After the Bears tacked on a field goal to lead 23-17 with 2:39 to play, Rodgers had a chance to win the game.

Facing a third-and-10 from the 25, Rodgers found Cobb. As he turned up the field, it was as if the Red Sea had parted. There was nothing but green grass in front of him. Seventh-five yards later, Cobb was in the end zone and Lambeau Field was in a state of pandemonium, leading all of Chicago to think one thing.

It’s Randall Cobb, again.

1. Fourth-and-8.

Of course, it could not be Randall Cobb again without the original.

Picking the most famous moment in Cobb’s career was an easy choice.

Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone against the Bears in November 2013 when he was sacked by Shea McClellin.

Miraculously, the Packers were in position to win the NFC North despite entering the final game of the regular season with a 7-7-1 record.

Green Bay’s ability to stay afloat while Rodgers missed nearly two months set up a winner-takes-all game at Soldier Field.

Rodgers was not the only player to return for this game. Cobb, healed from a broken leg he suffered in October against the Baltimore Ravens, was back in the lineup, as well.

In a back-and-forth game, Chicago led 28-27 when the Packers faced a fourth-and-8 near midfield with 51 seconds remaining.

The Packers had already converted two fourth downs on the drive, but this one was the biggest.

Rodgers took the snap and saw an all-out pressure. He rolled to his left with an assist from Kuhn, who knocked down future Packers pass rusher Julius Peppers.

When Rodgers looked up, Cobb was open down the field. Cobb caught Rodgers’ pass and sprinted to the end zone for a 48-yard touchdown that is one of the most iconic plays in the NFL’s most historic rivalry.

Ten Years With Packers

Cobb was a fan favorite during two stints in Green Bay. He entered the league as an electric slot receiver and kick returner, scoring two touchdowns in his first career game. He’d score 53 more through the air and return three kicks for touchdowns during his 13-year career.

Cobb as a rookie was part of a Packers receiving corps that graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2011, and he enjoyed a career year in 2014 with 91 receptions for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was a dynamic option next to Jordy Nelson that season as the Packers fell just one game short of the Super Bowl.

Following the 2018 season, Cobb left the only team he’d ever known to play two years in Texas, with the 2019 season with the Dallas Cowboys and the 2020 season with the Houston Texans.

Cobb was famously part of Rodgers’ stipulation to return to the team following the 2020 season. Brian Gutekunst swung a trade at the start of training camp, using a sixth-round pick to bring Cobb back to Green Bay for two seasons.

While Cobb was not the same player he was during his first stint in Green Bay, he was effective as a secondary receiving option. Cobb caught 66 passes for 816 yards and scored eight times.

Unfortunately for Cobb, he was unable to catch that elusive Super Bowl ring for his career, but he will be a sure-fire Packers Hall of Famer.

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Jacob Westendorf
JACOB WESTENDORF

Jacob Westendorf, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2015, is a writer for Packer Central, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: jacobwestendorf24@gmail.com History: Westendorf started writing for Packer Central in 2023. Twitter: https://twitter.com/JacobWestendorf Background: Westendorf graduated from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where he earned a degree in communication with an emphasis in journalism and mass media. He worked in newspapers in Green Bay and Rockford, Illinois. He also interned at Packer Report for Bill Huber while earning his degree. In 2018, he became a staff writer for PackerReport.com, and a regular contributor on Packer Report's "Pack A Day Podcast." In 2020, he founded the media company Game On Wisconsin. In 2023, he rejoined Packer Central, which is part of Sports Illustrated Media Group.