But coach Mike McCarthy says Nelson could play in the Packers’ divisional-round playoff game this weekend in Dallas if he can practice Saturday.

Nelson left in the second quarter of the 31-13 win over the New York Giants in a wild-card game Sunday. He took a shot to the left side of his body from safety Leon Hall’s helmet while jumping for a pass that went incomplete.

McCarthy says Nelson spent Sunday night in the hospital. Nelson was back at Lambeau Field on Monday.

The Packers practice on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday for games on Sunday.

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Nelson, who caught a career-high 98 passes in 2014 while making the Pro Bowl for the first time, fell to the ground when he tried to cut after making an 8-yard reception on Green Bay’s opening drive.

Nelson appeared to have plenty of room to run when defensive back Antwon Blake slipped but instead tumbled to the turf. Nelson was able to gather himself and walk off the field but did not return.

The Packers also lost starting guard T.J. Lang to a concussion.

—

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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The gift from the former walk-on combined with other contributions pushes to $8 million the total raised for the next round of work. The $15 million phase will connect the east concourse to the recently renovated Vanier Football Complex, fully enclosing the stadium.

It will also provide new visiting locker room space, offices and video boards.

Nelson grew up in nearby Riley, Kansas. He says that ”giving back to the program and university that have afforded us the opportunities that we have now was very important to us.”

Kansas State has spent $165 million to renovate the stadium over the past five years.

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Green Bay at San Francisco
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 12, 2013
Where: Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FOX.
Line: 49ers -3. O/U: 44.5

Oddsmakers currently have the 49ers listed as 3-point favorites versus the Packers, while the game’s total is sitting at 45.

Green Bay has most of its defense healthy for the first time in weeks and spent the wild-card round attacking Vikings backup quarterback Joe Webb. Clay Matthews, looking fully recovered from a hamstring injury that has limited him at times, had a pair of sacks and forced a fumble while Charles Woodson played for the first time since breaking his collarbone on Oct. 21. With those two playmakers back, the Packers forced three turnovers and managed to hold Peterson under 100 yards rushing. The focus this week will be on Rodgers facing a San Francisco defense that has held opposing passers to 200.2 yards – fourth-best in the NFL – and finished second in the league in scoring defense. Rodgers passed for 303 yards but struggled until late in the game and was intercepted once in the first meeting. He should have a better rushing attack behind him in Saturday’s game, with DuJuan Harris and Ryan Grant taking handoffs. Rodgers was the leading rusher for the Packers in Week 1 and could be without one of his top receiving targets Saturday in Jordy Nelson, who is questionable with a knee injury.

In their last action, Green Bay was a 24-10 winner at home against the Vikings. They covered the 11-point spread as favorites, while the combined score (34) was profitable news for UNDER bettors.

Green Bay: 11-5 SU, 9-7 ATS
When playing in January are 7-3
When playing on grass are 10-0
After outgaining opponent are 7-3
When playing outside the division are 6-4
Green Bay is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing San Francisco
Green Bay is 6-0-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against San Francisco
Green Bay is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against San Francisco
Green Bay is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games

San Francisco has a solid candidate for Defensive Player of the Year in Aldon Smith and has surrendered an average of 13.9 points in eight home games. That defense is keyed on the front line by tackle Justin Smith, who has been dealing with a triceps injury and missed the final two games of the regular season. Justin Smith was wearing an elbow brace but has been practicing and is listed as probable for Saturday. On the other side of the ball, the 49ers will be giving the Packers a much different look than in Week 1. Kaepernick passed for a career-high 276 yards in a Week 17 win over the Arizona Cardinals and has opened up the playbook with his ability to extend plays with his legs and one of the stronger arms in the league. The 25-year-old finished up the regular season with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions and was at his best in some of the biggest games, including a four-touchdown performance at New England in Week 15.

San Francisco won its last outing, a 27-13 result against the Cardinals on December 30. The 49ers failed to cover in that game as a 16-point favorite, while the 40 combined points took the game OVER the total.

San Francisco: 11-4-1 SU, 9-7 ATS
When playing in January are 6-4
When playing on grass are 8-1-1
After outgaining opponent are 6-3-1
When playing outside the division are 8-2
The total has gone OVER in 7 of San Francisco’s last 8 games
San Francisco13-2-1 SU in its last 16 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Francisco’s last 5 games when playing Green Bay
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Francisco’s last 5 games at home

Prediction: 49ers 27, Packers 24

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This game was so full of action, intrigue and tension they’re going to stage it again next weekend.

Peterson finished 9 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record, but he still powered the Vikings past the Packers 37-34 Sunday with 199 yards to set up a rematch at Lambeau Field in a first-round playoff game.

“I told myself to come into this game focused on one thing, and that’s winning,” Peterson said.

Peterson rumbled around the left side of the line for a 27-yard gain in the closing seconds, his career-high 34th carry exactly one year after reconstructive surgery on his left knee. That set up Blair Walsh’s 29-yard field goal as time expired and put the Vikings (10-6) in the postseason after consecutive last-place finishes.

“For our guys to be as resilient as they were, it has you swelling with pride,” coach Leslie Frazier said.

The division champion Packers (11-5) dropped to the NFC’s No. 3 seed. Their five-game winning streak against the Vikings ended.

“I had a feeling that we had the game in the bag the whole game,” Vikings cornerback Chris Cook said. “It was just a vibe that I had on the sideline, in how we were carrying ourselves.”

Aaron Rodgers completed 28 of 40 passes for 365 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions, connecting with Jordy Nelson from 2 yards to tie the game with 2:54 remaining. But Christian Ponder threw for three scores, including one to Peterson.

Ponder went 16 for 28 for 234 yards, including a 65-yard zinger in stride to Jarius Wright midway through the fourth quarter that set up Ponder’s third touchdown toss.

“It’s disappointing. A lot of us wanted that extra week,” Rodgers said.

Peterson finished with 2,097 yards, becoming the seventh player in NFL history to reach the 2,000 mark. He had to work for it, pulling out all the cutbacks, stutter-steps and spins he could find in his exceptional skill set. His longest run was only 28 yards against a defense geared to slow him down, and the first contact often came at, near or behind the line of scrimmage.

“It wasn’t meant to happen, or it would’ve happened. Not to say it doesn’t hurt, because it does,” Peterson said of Dickerson’s 28-year-old record. “But we came in here tonight and accomplished the ultimate goal, and that was getting a win and punching our ticket to the playoffs.”

The Packers cut the lead to 27-24 late in the third quarter on a touchdown reception by James Jones. The on-field ruling was a fumble at the goal line, triggering an automatic review. Because the Packers threw the challenge flag after the replay process began, however, they were only penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, not prevented from benefiting from the overturned call. That’s what happened to Detroit infamously on Thanksgiving, when a disputed score by Houston was prevented from review.

After posting a 9-23 record over the last two years, the Vikings made so many strides in 2012 that the season was already a success. But no NFL team would ever be satisfied by finishing in defeat against a division rival, and the emotion and energy behind the quest was palpable all afternoon.

“It took us a little while to adjust to the crowd noise, and we didn’t get going,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “That usually happens up here. This is a tough place to play, no doubt. We anticipated this being the loudest environment of the year. They pumped it in here pretty good today.”

The NFC North was sewn up by the Packers two weeks earlier. Even though the bye remained in the balance the top seed didn’t do the Packers any good last season. They went 15-1 and lost their opener at home to the eventual champion Giants.

Rodgers played without injured leading receiver Randall Cobb, so Greg Jennings was the main guy, grabbing eight passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. But the Vikings sacked Rodgers five times, recovering a fumble on one of them at midfield to set up a third-quarter touchdown.

Rodgers has 24 touchdowns, only four interceptions and a 70 percent completion rate over 10 career starts against the Vikings. His poise, arm strength and savvy came through clear against them as much as any other team. Plus, cornerback Antoine Winfield’s aggravated hand injury kept him on the sideline for most of the game.

Just as Ponder capably complemented Peterson, DuJuan Harris came out of nowhere to provide Rodgers some help. Green Bay has been proving lately it’s not a one-sided offense, either, and Harris rushed 14 times for 70 yards

But this was Peterson’s show. Second-and-27? He surged off right tackle and bounced outside for 28 yards on a drive that ended with his second touchdown, a 2-yard reception that pushed the lead to 27-17 in the third quarter. The “MVP” chants from the crowd rang out in earnest after that.

Game notes

Cobb’s absence meant the Packers went without a 1,000-yard receiver for the first time since 2003. Cobb finished with 954 yards. … Vikings WR Jerome Simpson was woozy after an end-zone collision in the third quarter, falling back down after trying to get up the first time. He passed concussion tests and returned to the game.

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