The aftershock was staggering - it was as overwhelming as the "immaculate rejection" itself - the block heard round the world last Sunday.
Chicago celebrated. Green Bay sulked and vented vociferously. The 14-13 loss at the hands of the Bears was a defeat that buried the team and, especially its head coach Ray Rhodes, under an avalanche of negativism. Not since the days of Lindy Infante has such ineptitude been seen in Lambeau Field.
Two straight losses at home. One of them decisively to an upstart team guided by a familiar coach, the other to an already bad team led by its third string quarterback.
The Green Bay Packers are a team in turmoil facing a season in the balance and, at 4-4, the Packers will face the 4-4 Cowboys on Sunday, that same battered Dallas team lit up by the Vikings last Monday night.
The winner of Sunday's game still has a shot. The loser will start planning for the first season of the third millennium
We've heard all the talk about firing the coach. We've heard all the theories why this team is struggling, but we've still to hear, or see, any solutions.
To understand the reasons we have to go back to Mike Holmgren. He knew his time had come in Green Bay and he knew his team's time had expired.
The Packers' 11-5 mark and quick exit from the playoffs last season should have sent up some red flags.
Truthfully, this year's team is not any better than 10-6 and may be lucky to reach 8-8. The simplistic answer is the coaching. The real answer is a bit more complex. Everything from the schedule to injuries could be cited as reasons for the decline, but what it comes down to is team chemistry.
Talent isn't at a minimum in Titletown. This team has the star power, but transition is tough. Ask Phil Bengston. Any team under new leadership is going to struggle because of the lack of chemistry. It should be a given, but expectations seem to always get in the way.
When Ray Rhodes was hired for the job, his impersonation of Mr. Goodwrench was impressive. He said the team could be fixed with a few tweaks here and there. Little did he know the team he was inheriting wasn't the same team that went to two straight Super Bowls - even though a good portion of the lineup included many of the same players.
Inheriting a three-time MVP winner, a $5 million a year running back, and a defense riddled and embarrassed by a rookie last year wasn't such a great spot for Rhodes to walk into.
He felt like the step-father meeting his new family. With his real father run off with his new love, Favre has had to make the adjustment from being led by Holmgren's nose ring to being left to do his own thing, an adjustment that hasn't been easy for him.
It is crucial, both for the team and for Rhodes, to win at Dallas. Should they slip below .500 it will be time to give Brett a rest and take a look at Matt Hasselbeck while starting to build for next season.
The slide has been inevitable. Gone are Brooks, Chmura, Timmerman, and a guy named Reggie White. This working project masqueraded as a contender for the first quarter of the season, but were exposed in October as a pretender.
Assuming the job of a legend could be considered self-flagellation, Rhodes has already beaten himself to death over the team's disappointing losses this season - especially the most recent.
What he needs, and more directly, what Packer fans need is a win. Seven years of playoff-level play has spoiled them and the hurt from the team's decline has made them desperate.
A win wouldn't heal the wounds already opened, but it may provide a bit of salve to ease the pain.
So, if there has ever been a time when the Packers went into the weekend with a "must win" situation facing them, now is that time. It's do or die. We all know it and it really couldn't have come at a better time for Green Bay. Thanks to the Vikings, the Cowboys have been battered and beaten and will be without the triumvirate of Aikman, Irvin, and Smith. If the Cowboys aren't caught and passed by the Packers on Sunday, there will be no end to the Rhodes bashing.
If we thought the backlash over the loss to the Bears was bad, we will be aghast at what could be heard after another loss - to another inferior opponent.
Green Bay must either follow the line of the famous foot ware company and just do it, or they could die.