GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Jordy Nelson was still in the trainers' room inside the visitors' locker room at Heinz Field, and the Green Bay Packers -- including head coach Mike McCarthy -- were already contemplating what to do next.
Dr. Pat McKenzie's preliminary diagnosis of the Pro Bowl wide receiver's right knee injury had been ominous -- a torn anterior cruciate ligament, with an MRI set for the team's return to Green Bay to confirm Nelson's season would be over before it began. McCarthy and others began brainstorming, while the even-more-meaningless-than-usual Aug. 23 preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers was still in progress.