Jordy Nelson injures ankle early vs. Arizona

Jordy Nelson entered the week leading the Packers in receiving yards. (Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE)

Jordy Nelson was a game-time decision Sunday because of a nagging hamstring injury. He started anyway, but made it less than a quarter before [si_launchNFLPopup video='3fb73a7eabdb44ac80ee9f480b9e6bd1']hobbling to the sideline with an ankle injury[/si_launchNFLPopup].

Nelson slid to the turf in an effort to catch a low Aaron Rodgers pass on 2nd-and-goal, and his right ankle appeared to catch in the turf and turn under his right leg. Once Nelson made it to the bench, Green Bay's trainers removed his shoe and placed a bag of ice over the injured ankle. He was ruled out for the game, at halftime.

It came as a bit of a surprise that the Packers opted to play Nelson in Week 9, with a bye week awaiting. Green Bay's leading receiver sat out last week's sloppy win over Jacksonville, further depleting a receiving corps that has been without Greg Jennings.

Rodgers finished with a season-low 186 yards passing in that 24-15 victory last week, with James Jones putting up 78 yards to lead the way.

Perhaps seeing his teammates go through the motions encouraged Nelson to push it a little harder this week. The tough part of that decision now is that his Sunday injury had nothing to do with his hamstring issue. Even with an extra week to rest up, Nelson could face a tough road back to 100 percent -- any receiver dealing with multiple leg injuries could be limited for some time.

Both Jones and Randall Cobb stepped up again with Nelson out Sunday. Jones hauled in a TD pass from Rodgers in the first half, while Cobb was on the receiving end of a pair of Rodgers' scoring tosses -- including one on the play after Nelson left injured.

Green Bay did have to hold its breath later in the first half when Cobb took a shot while returning a punt. That play briefly had the Packers down to just Jones, Donald Driver and Jarrett Boykin at wide receiver.