Santa Clause came with a belated Christmas gift: playoff football in December. At least, that's the situation facing the Packers this Sunday as the New York Giants come to Lambeau Field.
Win and keep their playoff hopes alive with another win against Chicago in week 17.
Lose, and you can kiss the 2010 season goodbye, which would be even harder with NFC North Championship expectations as well as Super Bowl aspirations at the beginning of the season.
15 players on injured reserve later, including playmakers Ryan Grant and Jermichael Finley along with defensive starters Nick Barnett and Morgan Burnett, the Packers are struggling to put together a two-game run that would launch them into the playoffs as the final Wild Card spot.
That sixth seed would be all to familiar for the Pack as they were seeded sixth last year in their epic offensive onslaught against the Arizona Cardinals, eventually losing to Kurt Warner and the Cardinals 51-45 in overtime.
However, the Packers have to defeat a very tough Giants squad at home. The Giants would not be eliminated with a loss but it would damage their playoff hopes and they would have to hope for a Bears victory in week 17 against the Pack, while taking care of business in their week 17 showdown against the Redskins in Washington.
The Packers and Giants head into their pivotal week 16 showdown coming off very similar heartbreaking defeats, however, in very different fashion.
The Giants played 52 minutes of outstanding football and 8 minutes of disastrous football, ending with the infamous line drive punt by rookie punter Matt Dodge that DeSean Jackson fumbled and promptly picked up and returned for a touchdown with no time remaining. It was the first NFL game in history to end with a punt returned for a touchdown.
The Giants led 31-10 with close to eight minutes remaining, when things started to unravel. Michael Vick, after being suffocated by the intimidating front seven of the G-Men, broke through and led three touchdown drives ending in two touchdown passes, the first a 65-yard connection with tight end Brent Celek and a rushing touchdown. Vick chalked up 245 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter alone and ended with 130 yards rushing.
The Giants catastrophic meltdown to the Eagles in the fourth quarter all but assures the Eagles the NFC East crown and leaves the Giants battling for a Wild Card spot.
The Packers are coming off a heartbreaking 31-27 defeat in Foxboro against the NFL's "best team" in football right now.
After starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers was ruled inactive after suffering a concussion against the Lions, the Packers rallied behind backup quarterback Matt Flynn.
Flynn had a remarkable performance against the Pats throwing for three touchdowns and only one interception. However, most Packers fans will dwell on the last minute drive where Flynn couldn't get the offense organized for a final heave into the endzone.
The Packers were not expected to compete with the Pats who had not lost in Foxboro in 15 regular season games. The Packers hung tough with the Patriots and missed a few key opportunities in the game including a Charles Woodson interception chance on the Patriots first drive of the game.
Either way, a loss is a loss and the Packers are faced with a must-win situation against two playoff-caliber teams in their final two games, both at home.
The good news for the Pack is that Rodgers will be back and ready to go with everything on the line.
The bad news for the Packers is that the Giants will not be very pleased with how their last game ended and could come into Green Bay determined to win.
The key to this game will be the Packers offensive line. The Giants defensive line is one of the best in football with playmakers like Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Chris Canty, Barry Cofield, and Jason Pierre-Paul. If the Packers are to win this game, they will need to pick up Giants Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell's multiple blitz packages and keep Aaron Rodgers upright to sustain drives.
On defense, the Packers need to capitalize on chances to create turnovers. Eli Manning leads the league with 25 turnovers this season, and the Packers could benefit from a few mistakes from Manning playing at the Frozen Tundra.
I think the X-factor in this game is the Packers secondary being a little better than the young, athletic, and physical Giants secondary. Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams and Nick Collins can limit the big plays from Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham. The Packers will be able to rush Manning into a few forced throws and create game-changing turnovers. Aaron Rodgers is much more efficient in taking care of the ball than Manning, and the Packers squeak out a tight one at Lambeau. A close win would be a huge boost of confidence for a Packers team that is 2-6 in games decided by 4 points or less and has lost all 6 of their games by a combined 20 points.
Packers 24, Giants 20
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