Green Bay Packers: Jordy Nelson’s top 10 moments
By Evan Siegel
2. Third-down conversion in Super Bowl (Super Bowl XLV, 2011)
Jordy Nelson had just dropped his third pass of the Super Bowl on a second-and-10 at a critical juncture of the game. Now on a third-and-10 at the Steelers 40-yard line up 21-17 in the fourth quarter, Aaron Rodgers went right back to Nelson on the same exact play, who took the reception 35 yards down to the Steeler five-yard line.
What is perhaps most memorable about this particular play, is that Nelson recognized the blitz scheme that the Steelers were sending at Aaron Rodgers. Nelson saw both the cornerback and nearest safety leaking towards the line of scrimmage, and pointed in their direction to alert Rodgers and the offensive line that they were coming.
Nelson came out of his break slowly, anticipating a hot throw from Rodgers, who instead settled in in the face of the pressure and drilled Nelson in the chest once he had broken to the middle of the field.
1. Tone-setting touchdown in Super Bowl (Super Bowl XLV, 2011)
The first half of Super Bowl XLV went about as well as the Packers could have possibly hoped for. Having just barely missed a similar type throw from Aaron Rodgers early in the half, Nelson broke free from William Gay on a third-and-one down the sideline. Rodgers executed another perfect five-step drop and hit Nelson careening down the boundary for a touchdown that sent Packer Nation around the world into a frenzy.
Next. Top 30 moments in Green Bay Packers history. dark
Nelson had enjoyed a tremendous playoff run leading up to the big game and was maturing into Rodgers’ favorite receiver by that point in his career. The Packers eventually were content to let both James Jones and Greg Jennings leave in free agency because of Nelson’s incredible development. Nelson is unquestionably one of the great receivers of his day and won’t be easily replaced in Green Bay.