McCarthy said he’s “hopeful” veteran wide receiver Randall Cobb can play Sunday against the Giants.
Cobb, who had just 60 catches for 610 yards and four touchdowns this season, missed the last two games because of a lingering ankle injury.
In his place, however, the Packers unearthed a late-season contributor. Undrafted rookie Geronimo Allison followed up a four-catch, 66-yard performance in the Christmas Eve victory over the Minnesota Vikings with four receptions for 91 yards and a pivotal touchdown Sunday.
“It’s been great to see him playing the way he’s played the last couple of weeks,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “The key for him, as with any young player, is you’ve got to do it in practice and you’ve got to be mentally sharp. And, he does both of those things. He makes plays in practice, and mentally, he’s come a long way. And, he’s been very sharp.”
A 39-yard deep ball from Rodgers to Allison helped set up a 53-yard field goal by Mason Crosby to end the first half and pull with the Packers within 14-10.
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Early in the fourth quarter, Rodgers connected with Allison for a 31-yard completion. A few minutes later in the same possession, Rodgers extended a third-and-9 play from the Detroit 10-yard line for nearly 10 seconds by rolling outside of the pocket before hitting a lunging Allison with a touchdown throw in the back of the end zone to put Green Bay up 23-14.
Though Allison has provided a hot hand on the receiving end of Rodgers’ throws, McCarthy wouldn’t say whether the young wideout would remain a focal point in the offense if Cobb is OK to play Sunday.
“We really don’t play that way,” McCarthy said.
“We play personnel groups. There’s things we’re going to do differently each and every week, and Aaron throws it to the guy that’s open. We don’t really hunker down and try to feature just one player and so forth. So, we’ll continue to do that. If Randall Cobb is in the game, obviously it’s important for us to get him some opportunities.”
