Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson have been a dynamic duo for years now, but that stopped in 2015 when Nelson tore his ACL. The injury prevented the wide receiver from playing in 2015, yet Rodgers and Nelson made up for lost time with their efforts last season.
The two Packers players have each been nominated for awards at the ESPYs. The 25th year of the ESPYs is being hosted by quarterback legend Peyton Manning and will take place on July 12th on ABC.
The brilliance of Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers was so good this past season that he actually is nominated for two separate ESPYs.
One is for his overall performance in the "Best NFL Player" category. After Rodgers' "run the table" quote, he had an historic second half of the season. Rodgers was one of the most compelling players to watch week in and week out.
His extraordinary play from the second half of the season carried into the playoffs. In the NFC divisional round of the playoffs, he created one of the most exciting moments of the whole NFL season. In the fading moments of the game against the Cowboys, he was able to scramble out of the pocket and make a laser of a throw to Jared Cook who caught the ball with his feet barely inbounds. The huge play occurred on a 3rd down and 20 and was initially called incomplete by the first referee.
The video for it can be seen above.
This play saved the Packers' season as it set up a field goal for the playoff win. Rodgers' and Cooks' brilliance on this play has been nominated for an ESPY "Best Play" category. The play may ultimately lose to Julian Edelman's catch in the Super Bowl, as the Edelman-Brady duo ultimately might rival the Nelson-Rodgers duo this coming year.
Nelson's insane comeback
Recovering from an ACL injury is not easy, yet Nelson recovered from the injury in the most dramatic fashion. After missing basically all of the 2015 season due to an ACL tear, Nelson came back with an incredible season, recording 97 catches and 14 touchdowns, for over 1,200 yards.
All of this has ensured that Nelson was nominated for an ESPY in the "Best Comeback Athlete" category.
Nelson is the only NFL player to be nominated in this category. Nelson has even acknowledged that it normally takes quite a while to fully recover from an ACL injury, as the second year back from an injury is usually when the athlete is completely healthy. This means that Nelson may even be more explosive and capable this coming year than he was last year, a fact that should scare defenses across the league.
