TimesFour

November 21, 2010 – H.H.H. Metrodome

No team needed a break more than the 2010 Green Bay Packers. It had, quite frankly, been one hell of a season & the most important part still loomed like gathering storm clouds on the horizon.

The roller-coaster began with a 2-0 start. It then degenerated with 3 losses in 4 games that had nearly everyone questioning the Packers skill, tenacity & heart. The wild ride continued with 3 straight wins, including a rout of the once proud Dallas Cowboys that had forced the mid-season firing of Wade Phillips.

Rodgers scrambles from trouble

While many teams might have wanted the recent upswing to continue uninterrupted, the Packers were one of the last teams to celebrate their bye week, and they welcomed it! Nine straight weeks of football and an unceasing array of injuries had emptied the teams tank. A week off had allowed the players to heal up & offered the opportunity for the collective team mentality to recharge for what promised to be an engaging stretch run.

The first order of business was a rematch with the Minnesota Vikings in the Metrodome, a place that, more often than not, had been a house of horrors for the Packers. So Green Bay knew they could not take anything for granted–especially against this team, this quarterback and in this venue.

Still, if the Dallas Cowboys had been on the road to oblivion when Green Bay faced them 2 weeks earlier, the Vikings were clearly on the same off-ramp. Brett Favre’s performances had not improved. The Vikings were still out of sync and the organization was in turmoil after head coach Brad Childress had inexplicably released wide receiver Randy Moss a week earlier, without telling the players or his boss, owner Zygi Wilf.

So the Vikings appeared to be ripe for beating and after a slow start, the Packers obliged.

Trailing 3-0 after 1 quarter, the Packers finally got in gear in the 2nd quarter. Mason Crosby’s 42-yard field goal with 9:44 left tied the game & on their next possession, the Packers drove 80 yards on 8 plays with Rodgers hitting Greg Jennings for the touchdown and a 10-3 lead.

But the Packers weren’t done.

Cornerback TramonWilliams intercepted a shell-shocked Favre (who couldn’t believe Tramon made the play) late in the quarter & Rodgers again drove the Packers into scoring position, capping the drive with a 3 yard scoring toss to James Jones with 3 seconds remaining.

The Packers kept their foot on the accelerator to start the 3rd quarter as Rodgers connected with Jennings for a 46-yard score and a 24-3 lead that completely sucked the oxygen out of the Metrodome and its crowd.

Rodgers capped his exceptional day with a 4th quarter scoring pass to Jennings and by that point, the boos were raining down on the home team. “I’m at a loss for words,” Favre said in his post-game press conference. “Disappointing doesn’t begin to say it.”

Rodgers was clearly in a groove now. He completed 22 of 31 passes for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns–three to the electric wideout Greg Jennings. For the third straight game, the Packers did not commit a turnover, but they forced 2 by the Vikings.

This was the Green Bay Packers team everyone had expected to see weeks earlier. “We’re going to be tough to beat when we’re playing like that,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers beats Favre for the 2nd time

Meanwhile, in an eerie similarity to what had transpired in the Cowboys’ game, the Vikings were imploding in front of everyone. Favre, who suddenly looked old & disinterested, was arguing with his offensive coordinator and close friend, Darrell Bevell, on the sideline, and Childress appeared to be a man preparing for a trip to the gallows.

Indeed, 2 days after being hammered by the Packers, Wilf relieved Childress of his job. In what may be an NFL record, the Packers had now been party to 2 straight coaches losing their jobs.

Nothing like that figured to happen the following week as the Packers prepared for the NFC’s best team, the Atlanta Falcons. But the Packers were playing with the kind of confidence they hadn’t known for a while.

“We’ve got our foot on the gas, our hands on the wheel, and we’re looking straight ahead,” coach Mike McCarthy said after the game.