Flashback 2010: John Kuhn Scores Three Touchdowns to Lead the Packers Past the Giants

The Green Bay Packers faced a must-win situation entering their Week 16 matchup against the New York Giants in 2010. The Packers needed to win both of their final games to sneak into the playoffs as the final wild card. They had to defeat the New York Giants and Chicago Bears to get in. But Aaron Rodgers threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns, fullback John Kuhn scored three touchdowns, and the defense forced six turnovers to earn a key win. The Packers kept their playoff hopes alive in a critical game that eventually led them to a Super Bowl victory.

John Kuhn Scores three Touchdowns to Lead the Packers Past the Giants: The Buildup

The Packers entered this game with an 8-6 mark. The previous week, Rodgers missed the game due to a concussion. Backup Matt Flynn threw three touchdown passes but the Packers lost 31-27 to the New England Patriots.

“I was teasing Flynn, I had to get my job back,” Rodgers said, half joking.

The Giants were 9-5 and also battling for a playoff spot. They lost a tough divisional game to the Eagles the previous week 38-31 when DeSean Jackson returned a punt 65 yards for the winning score on the final play of the game. The Giants blew a 21-point lead in the final half of the fourth quarter.

Both teams needed this win to get the final wild card. The Packers were three-point favorites entering the game.

A Fast Start for the Packers

The teams traded punts on their first drives, but the Packers needed only one play to score the second time they had the ball. Rodgers found Jordy Nelson deep over the middle. Nelson beat Antrel Rolle and then outran safety Deon Grant to score on an 80-yard touchdown pass. The Packers led 7-0.

“It was a good call,” Rodgers said after the game. “It’s something we work on a lot with the play-action, and he’s kind of going down the middle. … I just wanted to make a decent fake, and we pulled Antrel just enough to get a good throwing lane there and I was able to put a good throw on it and Jordy took off.”

The Packers defense stepped up on the ensuing Giants possession. Tramon Williams intercepted Eli Manning and returned the ball to the Giants 44. Two runs by Dimitri Nance gained 11 yards and Rodgers later ran for 15 yards around the right side. The drive ended when Rodgers found James Jones for a three-yard touchdown pass. The Packers led 14-0.

John Kuhn Scores three Touchdowns to Lead the Packers Past the Giants: The Giants Battle Back

The Giants responded early in the second quarter. Manning found Hakeem Nicks twice on this five-play drive. The first one completion gained 18 yards. The second one resulted in a 36-yard touchdown pass and the Giants cut the lead to 14-7.

The Packers tried to answer and drove the ball to the Giants 25. But Nelson fumbled and Rolle recovered for the Giants at their own 15. Manning tied the game on the first play of the drive, finding Mario Manningham on an 85-yard touchdown pass. The game was tied 14-14.

Rodgers and the Packers answered right away. The quarterback completed four straight passes, two to Greg Jennings that totaled 37 yards, one to Donald Driver for six yards and one to Jones for eight more. The drive ended on an eight-yard run by Kuhn off the left side. The Packers led 21-14 at the half.

“I told [Driver] on the sideline when we were coming back out, ‘I need that vintage drive now. I need that [number] 80 now. Let’s go. I need that 80 out there,’” Jennings told reporters. “[It was a] vintage drive. One thing about a guy like that, he’s going to make plays if he gets an opportunity. And he gets us all going. … That definitely got us going. He kept the drive alive and we were able to put points on the board and hold them off a little bit.”

The Packers Take Control

The Packers defense forced another turnover on the opening drive of the second half. Charles Woodson forced running back Ahmad Bradshaw to fumble, and Atari Bigby recovered for the Packers at midfield. Rodgers found backup tight end Tom Crabtree for 21 yards to set up a 31-yard field goal by Mason Crosby. The lead was now 24-14. The Giants responded with a field goal of their own and midway through the third quarter, the Green Bay lead was cut to 24-17.

Rodgers answered immediately. He found Driver for 33 yards and Jennings for 36. That set up a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Donald Lee. The Packers led by 14 points, 31-17, which was the score after three quarters.

John Kuhn Scores three Touchdowns to Lead the Packers Past the Giants: Closing Out a Critical Win

Sam Shields intercepted Manning early in the fourth quarter to set up another Packers scoring drive. Rodgers went to work and found Jennings for 24 yards and tight end Andrew Quarless for 16 more. Rodgers found Kuhn on a five-yard touchdown pass and the lead was 38-17.

The crowd at Lambeau Field went wild, shouting “Kuuuuuhn.” The fullback appreciated the crowd. “It’s pretty funny,” he said. “It’s nice. I don’t want to let them down. They call for you ahead of time, so I’ve got to try and come through.”

Nick Collins intercepted Manning on the Giants next drive to set up the Packers final score of the game. Rodgers found Nelson for 38 yards down to the one and Kuhn scored his third touchdown of the game, running over right tackle to make the final score 45-17 Packers. The Packers still controlled their own destiny. If they defeated the Bears in the season finale, they would clinch a playoff spot.

The Aftermath

Both Jennings and Nelson had more than 100 yards receiving. Jennings caught seven passes for 142 yards while Nelson gained 124 yards and scored a touchdown on four catches. It was the first 100-yard receiving game of his career. The Green Bay offense gained 515 total yards while the defense intercepted four passes and recovered two fumbles.

Head coach Mike McCarthy was pleased with how his team played. “We knew this was going to be a battle that started up front,” he said, “and I don’t need to see the film to say that we definitely commanded that battle…When we walked out of that locker room there were two things we were going to do. We were going to be more physical than our opponent and we were going to be more disciplined than our opponent. We feel that we accomplished that.”

“We feel great,” added Tramon Williams. “Obviously we needed to get this one or it was over. For us to put together a performance like that, guys are really confident knowing we can still make this run. Our goal is still ahead of us. Everyone’s goal is to win the Super Bowl, so everyone’s feeling good right now.”

“It’s win or go home,” linebacker Desmond Bishop added. “We’re not ready to go home yet.”

The Packers went on to beat the Bears the following week and won three road playoff games to reach Super Bowl XLV. They beat the Steelers in that game to win the team’s 13^th championship.