San Diego started fast, scoring on its opening drive on a 23-yard Rivers to Vincent Jackson touchdown. That score would be the first of three Jackson would catch on the day. But the rest of the first quarter was all green and gold.
First, the Packers drove 68 yards in eight plays and Aaron Rodgers connected with Jermichael Finley for a score to tie things up. And then, a month and a half before Christmas, Rivers was in a giving mood.
On back to back possessions, Green Bay picked off Rivers and ran it back to the house. The first one was by Peprah, who caught a deflected pass and weaved his way through traffic on his way to a 40-yard pick six. However, Tramon Williams wanted in on the fun on the next drive, and he jumped in front of a Rivers pass and took it back 43 yards for the score and in the blink of an eye, the Packers went from down 7-0 to in front 21-7.
San Diego quickly got back in the game on a run by Matt Tolbert (Is that you, Tolbert?) to cut it back down to one score.
San Diego would cut it to 21-17 later in the quarter, but Green Bay ended the half with a Rodgers back shoulder touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson, where he caught it at the 2 and rolled his way into the end zone to put the Packers ahead 28-17 at halftime.
After a field goal on Green Bay’s opening drive of the second half, the Chargers put their first drive of the second half in the end zone. This time it was Antonio Gates who was the on the receiving end of a Rivers touchdown pass to cut it to seven. Rivers would throw for 385 yards and four touchdowns on the day.
The Packers quickly answered the Bolts touchdown with one of their own, a Rodgers 21-yard strike to James Jones to put the Packers back up 14, and after a Chargers punt, the Packers went back to work again.
On the first play of the next drive, Rodgers did a play fake and launched a pass to Nelson, who caught it and turned and made it down to the Chargers 4. Nelson would have five catches for 105 yards and a score on the day. Greg Jennings capped off the short drive with a touchdown reception to give the Packers a 45-24 lead.
San Diego fought to get right back into the game, though, as the Chargers drove right back down the field and Jackson caught his second touchdown of the day and San Diego cut it to 14. One score? No problem for Green Bay, especially since their offense was on fire. But the Chargers do an onside kick and it goes through the legs of a Packers player and Nelson tries to bat the ball, but San Diego recovered.
Three plays later, Jackson had his third score of he game, a 29-yard strike from Rivers to cut the lead to a single score and there was still more than six minutes to go.
Three straight punts and the Chargers had the ball back with one more chance to tie it up with a little more than a minute left. The Bolts would drive to the Packers 41 on a completion to Gates and a pass interference on Charles Woodson, but would go no further. Rivers threw a pass down the field to a double covered Jackson and was picked off by Peprah, who was not satisfied with just the interception. He wanted a second pick six, but was eventually brought down at the San Diego 6.
The Packers would go onto win five more consecutive games after this one and start out 13-0, but Kansas City shut the Packers offense down and the Packers lost 19-7 for their only loss of the regular season. Unfortunately, the Packers met their nemesis, the New York Giants, in the Divisional Round of the playoffs and Green Bay’s 15-1 season came crashing down with a 37-20 loss.
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