GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Joe Callahan made another one of those Joe Callahan plays -- the kind that won him a spot on the Green Bay Packers' opening day roster last year and the kind that prompted two other teams (the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns) to have him on their rosters for a stint before he came back to Green Bay.
Taysom Hill then showed the arm strength and the touch that led the Packers to sign him this spring as an undrafted free agent out of BYU to compete with Callahan for the No. 3 quarterback job -- if they keep three -- behind Aaron Rodgers and Brett Hundley.
It's not the quarterback controversy that is brewing in Chicago with rookie Mitchell Trubisky and veteran Mike Glennon, but there's a good little battle going on in Green Bay between a couple of gritty prospects.
It was Callahan who wowed the Packers last season with his ability to make something out of nothing. That was on display again in last week's preseason opener against the Eagles. Early in the fourth quarter, Callahan deftly sidestepped a blitz, rolled to his right and fired on the run to receiver Max McCaffrey for a 34-yard gain.
Later, Hill matched him with a perfectly placed deep ball to DeAngelo Yancey for a 46-yard pickup and then lofted a fade to 6-foot-6 receiver Michael Clark for a 7-yard touchdown with nine seconds to play.
It wouldn't be a surprise to see more of the same from the two young quarterbacks Saturday at Washington.
There's no guarantee the Packers will even keep a third quarterback on their 53-man roster, and they might have to worry that Callahan would get claimed off waivers again if they cut him to try to sneak him through the practice squad.
Callahan was the feel-good story of training camp last summer. With Rodgers playing in only one preseason game and Hundley sidelined for most of it because of an ankle injury, Callahan came virtually from nowhere -- well, Division III Wesley College -- to impress Thompson and Mike McCarthy enough to keep him on the 53.
"I never wanted to be just the fun story," Callahan said. "As neat of a story as it is, I definitely feel like I improved in the offseason. I continue to get better and I'm proving I can play at this level. I'm out there competing every day for my job."
Hill has made it a competition. He's a rookie who is about to turn 27. His arrival in the NFL came late because of a Mormon mission and a slew of injuries during five years at BYU, where he ran mostly a zone-read offense. But no one ever questioned his arm strength or his athletic ability; he tested well at his pro day (a 4.46 40 and a 38.5-inch vertical).
He played only two series against the Eagles, but Hill's poise on the last drive impressed McCarthy.
"I thought our guys did a great job with the protection and Tay did a hell of a job," McCarthy said. "Two big plays, that's what you like to see from your young players, especially in the first opportunity. I thought it was an excellent first impression for those guys."
Like Callahan did last year and continues to do, Hill has tried to absorb every bit of information he can from Rodgers. It's one of the reasons he signed with the Packers after the draft.
"Aaron has really helped me from a standpoint of he's made a few comments going back to when he was a rookie about how his first game went," Hill said. "He just came in and said, 'Don't worry so much about all this other stuff that's going on. Just get in there and you know how to play football. Go in and make plays.' I would say that has been really big for me as far as setting expectations and preparation. The other thing I would say is from a preparation standpoint. I've talked to him a little bit about how he prepares for a football game. It's been really helpful to me."