The ray of playoff hope that permeated Green Bay last week got dimmer on Sunday - much dimmer.
Steve Beuerlein, the journeyman quarterback of the Carolina Panthers, led his team to a come-from-behind victory against the Packers on Sunday when he broke the plane of the end zone on a daring quarterback draw on the game's final play.
Carolina's 33-31 win over Green Bay improved the Panthers to 6-7 and dropped the Packers to 7-6, lessening the Ray Rhodes-led team's chances for a playoff berth this year.
While still in the chase for the final wild card playoff berth, the Packers will probably have to win at least two of their final three games.
Given the fact that two of those games will be played in Minnesota and Tampa Bay, it will be difficult, at best. The only other way the Packers could sneak into the post-season tournament would be to get help from other teams. Detroit and Minnesota would have to continue to collapse in their final three games and Dallas would probably have to drop a couple of games.
Had the Packers defeated Carolina, like all the experts said they should have, they would have had a lot more room for error. Now, they've got their backs so close to the wall "we might have made an indentation in the wall," Packers free safety Darren Sharper said following the disappointing loss.
On Sunday, the lead changed hands nine times in a see-saw battle that saw both team's offenses march up and down the field with little resistance.
The Packers' pass defense was so awful, strong safety Leroy Butler exploded with a litany of complaints following the game. He blamed himself, he blamed his teammates, he blamed the scheme, and he demanded a bigger role in helping make things happen.
Used as an effective blitzer in the past, Butler's talents have been waylaid this season and the defense has suffered because of the lack of aggressive game plans.
Coupled with the fact that the Packers couldn't stop the Panthers, head coach Rhodes' refusal to call a timeout when the Panthers faced a fourth and goal with just under 50 seconds remaining in the game, all but sealed the team's fate.
Looking for a pass on that last play, the Packer defense lined up with just two linebackers. Taking a couple of steps backward, Beuerlein got the defense to bite before he rumbled on the quarterback draw toward the goal line.
There were no defenders in sight until Beuerlein got close enough to lean in for the score. Had Rodney Artmore hit the quarterback high instead of going for the knees, he may have had a chance of keeping the quarterback from falling forward into the end zone, but he didn't, and the Carolina quarterback celebrated.
Packer quarterback Brett Favre pleaded with the coaching staff to call a timeout before the final play, but his plea went unheeded. Rhodes figured the game was going to come down to one play. He was right.
The coach's refusal to call the timeout denied Favre and the Packer offense the opportunity to tie or win the game in the final seconds - something Favre has done several times already this season.
"With 25 or 30 seconds left, I personally should have said I'm calling one right now. The idea was we had one play to make and get off the field, and we didn't come up with a play. Hindsight is 20-20. Everybody can look back and say this and that. I do know a few seconds would have helped. That's on me," Rhodes said after the game.
The third home loss this season against another inferior opponent enraged Packer fans. For the first time since the beginning of this decade, the ticket holders in the stands made their disgust apparent with resounding rounds of boos on more than one occasion during the game.
There wasn't anyone more disgusted with the team's performance than Butler, the defensive leader who ranted after the game.
"It doesn't matter who it bothers, but we've got to get me more involved," he was quoted as saying after the game. "It's the only way. I believe that. It's frustrating not being the first option. We have to let the guys who can cover, cover and let the guys who can blitz, blitz. We have to go back to the basics. You don't have to be a rocket scientist around here to know that when I make plays, we win."
The defense did make some plays early in the game, but when rookie Mike McKenzie went out of the game with a bruised hip, the coverage was anemic.
Beuerlein continuously converted big plays against the Packer coverage, hitting wide-open receivers on all parts of the field.
When Darren Sharper had his spectacular 101 yard interception return called back because of penalty, Packer fans knew it was going to be a long afternoon. That play could have set the tone for the rest of the day and put the Panthers in a hole they may never have dug themselves out of.
Instead, Carolina took a 3-0 lead after getting another chance inside the Packer five yard line.
Later, Santana Dotson hit Beuerlein as he was throwing and Keith McKenzie caught the ball in full stride, scoring his second touchdown in as many games.
From that point on, the Packer defense was ineffective and Beuerlein picked them apart, leading his team to the upset win.
On the other hand, Brett Favre did everything he could to keep the Packers in the game, leading the team to scores late in the game when the team needed to retake the lead.
Next week, the Packers will travel to Minneapolis, a venue where they have had little success over the most recent past. With Minnesota losing a heartbreaker to Kansas City on Sunday, they will come out like caged animals themselves.
If Beuerlein looked like an all-pro against the Packers on Sunday, one wonders what the high-powered Viking offense will be able to do against the Green Bay defense. The thought is incredibly scary.
"We've taken a step backward," coach Rhodes said. "We're fighting for our lives. Obviously, this is very disappointing for everybody."
This game was indicative of an entire season that has been disappointing for the Green Bay Packers and the legion of fans across the country.
Questions about the coaching staff's abilities have once again been raised and, until Rhodes is able to win the games they are supposed to win, the questions won't subside.
With the remaining schedule nothing short of insurmountable, it is looking more and more like the off-season for the current Packer coaching staff will be a long and arduous one.