27. Packers 27, Chargers 20 (2015)

Green Bay was 5-0 and looking at going into the bye week undefeated. The Packers had rolled through the schedule to that point, winning four of the five by double digits. After getting off to a fast start in this one, it looked like Green Bay was going to win this one by at least 10 as well, but San Diego fought back and almost came back to win. Rookie Damarious Randall made the biggest play of the game, knocking away the pass at the end of the game to seal the win for the Packers and a 6-0 start heading into the bye.

Green Bay had its first possession after a San Diego punt and Aaron Rodgers and his troops drove down to give the Packers the 7-0 lead. James Starks had 30 yards rushing as well as a receiving touchdown on the first drive. Rodgers was 5-5 for 47 yards and the touchdown as well as a 15-yard scramble on third down in San Diego territory.

San Diego responded with a 14-play drive that ended with a Josh Lambo field goal. The Chargers converted two 3rd-and-7s with passes to Keenan Allen. He had three catches for 28 yards on the drive.

The Packers wasted little time in responding. After a first down conversion via a pass interference penalty, Starks picked a nice time for the longest run of his career. The running back tried the left side, but he found no running room, so he spun out to the right and found all kinds of running room. Starks would outrace the defenders and get a key block from Jeff Janis allowing him to sprint into the end zone 65-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead. That would be the score at the end of the first quarter.

The Chargers drove down the field on their next possession, but would miss it on fourth down. Philip Rivers would throw to five different receivers on the drive, but arguably his most trusted target, Antonio Gates, dropped the pass that may have been a touchdown on fourth down. That would set it up for the Packers to tack on a field goal to go up 17-3. Jeff Janis caught a 46-yard pass to put the Green and Gold in field goal range.

It got worse for the Chargers, as rookie and former Wisconsin Badgers great Melvin Gordon fumbled on the next San Diego possession, giving the Packers the ball at the Chargers 34. However, Green Bay only went backward and had to punt. In retrospect, it was one of the turning points of the game.

Allen helped the Chargers regain some momentum. He had three catches for 63 yards, including a 38-yard reception down to the Green Bay 23, on this touchdown drive. After a 9-yard catch by Allen on 3rd-and-Goal at the 10, the Bolts decided to go for it with only one play left in the first half. The gamble paid off, as Rivers threw a touchdown to Dontrelle Inman as time expired in the first half, so San Diego was only down 17-10 at halftime and had momentum on their side. Rivers would throw for a remarkable 503 yards on the day and a pair of scores.

The confidence of the 2-3 Chargers only sky rocketed when they forced a Packers three-and-out on their first possession of the second half and went down and scored a touchdown on their first drive in half two. The touchdown came on a 19-yard pass from Rivers to LaDarius Green. It was set up by a 50-yard completion to Malcom Floyd on 3rd-and-17. Allen once again had a big-time catch on third down to keep the drive moving. He would have 14 catches for 157 yards before exiting the game with an injury.

The Packers would take the lead back, 24-17, two possessions later on a Rodgers pass to James Jones from six yards out. Cobb had a big 26-yard catch to put the ball in Chargers territory and John Kuhn had a 19-yard catch on third down to put the ball in the red zone to help set up the touchdown to Jones.

The teams would trade field goals to set up the final Chargers drive. On Green Bay’s drive, Rodgers found Jeff Janis on a short pass and he ran for 33 yards to set up the field goal. However, three consecutive incompletions forced the Green and Gold to settle for a lead of seven rather than inserting the dagger.

The last drive for the Chargers went 11 plays for 77 yards, but they needed 80. With Allen out, Rivers utilized Gates more. The big tight end caught four passes for 41 yards on the drive. He would help San Diego move down to the Packers 3, but then the Green Bay defense made a stand. The first three plays from the 3 gained no yards, which set up fourth down. After the Chargers took their last timeout, Rivers went back to pass and threw to the reliable Danny Woodhead in the end zone, but Randall knocked it away at the last second and the Packers escaped with a 27-20 win.

Unfortunately, something happened during the bye week and Green Bay lost three straight after the bye and ended up 10-6, losing the NFC North in the last game of the regular season.