GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Randall Cobb was hurting. He admitted that much.

But the Green Bay Packers wide receiver certainly wasn’t in as bad of shape as it might’ve appeared after he caught what turned out to be the pass that clinched the Packers’ 23-16 victory Sunday over the New York Giants at Lambeau Field.

“I just felt the hit, and it hurt. So I laid there for a second,” Cobb said of his 13-yard reception on third-and-10 that allowed quarterback Aaron Rodgers to kneel out the final 2 minutes of the game. “Then I turned over and I had 15 faces in front [of me]. I thought I had died or something.”

No, as a matter of fact, after a slow statistical start to the season, Cobb came to life Sunday night, catching nine passes for 108 yards, which nearly equaled his output in the season’s first three games (12 receptions, 132 yards).

“I thought Randall was excellent. He was a primary target through a number of different packages. And he delivered,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “I thought he had a heck of a night.”

As the Packers went through their post-bye week of preparation, though, Rodgers didn’t think Cobb would be such a focal point of the game plan.

Randall Cobb came to life Sunday night, catching nine passes for 108 yards, which nearly equaled his output in the season's first three games. Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports

“Based on the week of practice, I wasn’t sure how many opportunities that Randall would get,” Rodgers admitted after targeting Cobb 11 times, second only to Jordy Nelson (13 targets, four receptions for 38 yards). “But the way things fell, he ended up getting a lot of opportunities and made the most of them.”

Two plays in particular stood out to Rodgers. The first came early in the fourth quarter, with the Packers leading 20-9 and facing a third-and-9 on their own 21-yard line. Five of Green Bay’s previous six possessions had gone three-and-out, and all the Packers had to show for those series was a pair of field goals.

Cobb made sure it didn’t happen again, catching a short Rodgers pass at the 24-yard line, breaking four tackles and turning it into a momentum-shifting 17-yard gain. Although the drive bogged down near the goal line and the Packers settled for another short Mason Crosby field goal, the play was crucial.

Then came the clincher. After running back James Starks -- filling in for an injured Eddie Lacy (left ankle) -- lost 3 yards on a first-down run and recovered what would have been a disastrous fumble on a 3-yard catch, the Packers faced third-and-10 at their own 35. After the Giants used their final timeout, McCarthy called a pass play and Rodgers found Cobb near the right sideline, right in front of the Packers’ bench.

Cobb lost his balance and dove forward, and as Giants safety Landon Collins closed in, he drove his shoulder into the back of Cobb’s head and neck. Cobb slumped to the turf, then rolled over and found team physicians Dr. John Gray and Dr. Pat McKenzie, as well as head athletic trainer Bryan Engel and a host of teammates, looking down at him with concern.

“You’d like, when a guy’s laying in the ground like that, [for the defender] to pull up,” Nelson said. “Obviously he didn’t.”

Said Cobb: “I saw I could move my fingers and my feet, so I knew it was all right.”

Cobb said he passed a concussion test administered after the hit, but he did have pain in his neck area after the game. Of course, his catch had made sure he wouldn’t have to return to the field anyway. Rodgers knelt three times to use up the final 120 seconds and move the Packers to 3-1.

“He’s an extremely tough, tough individual,” Rodgers said of Cobb, who was set to undergo more tests Monday as a precaution. “He’s an incredible teammate and I’m really proud to call him a friend. He played his butt off today. I mean, he was excellent. [He] took some shots -- took a shot on the should-have-been touchdown and took a shot there at the end.”

Yes, Cobb’s night would have been even more impressive had his 21-yard first-quarter touchdown catch not been wiped out by an illegal shift penalty. Rodgers wound up throwing an interception that caromed off Nelson’s hands on the ensuing play.

As a result, Cobb has yet to score his first touchdown of the season. Beyond that, though, his night was a success -- and, he hopes, a sign of things to come.

“It felt great to get some looks and be able to make some plays and just try to help this team win,” said Cobb, who set career highs in receptions (91), yards (1,287) and touchdowns (12) in 2014, but caught only 79 passes for 829 yards and six TDs last season.

“Having a few more opportunities, you’ve got to make the most of the opportunities you get. You never know how many you’re going to have. So being able to break some of those tackles and pick up first downs ... I think we were definitely in a rhythm. Whenever we’re all able to do that -- all able to contribute -- I think that makes our offense very dangerous.”