This wasn’t quite like finding religion, but it was in the area code.

At a time when desperation had set in, at a place on the calendar where the rules that govern the game prevail upon a team to run the ball, the Green Bay Packers found themselves.

It was but one afternoon. But as your search for something that gives you hope this pedestrian outfit could transform into a division champion, this at least provided something to hold on to.

The rabbit the Packers pulled out of the hat Sunday was a running game that produced 200 yards against the league’s fourth-best run defense, and it was THE reason Green Bay embarrassed the Chicago Bears 37-3 at Lambeau Field.

This was a Chicago team that had routinely come to the Packers’ house and cleaned them out, winning four straight. A crystal ball couldn’t have seen this coming.

But they ran the ball like their lives depended on it.

So the clear question that begged to be answered in the aftermath was quite simple: Just where in the name of Ahman Green had this been?

“I’d say the same thing I’ve been saying, the games that we lost we didn’t execute," said Packers center Scott Wells. “And again we’ve shown how good we can be when we go out and execute. So, there it is."

“Execute" was definitely the word of the day. Everyone was saying it. Everyone was pointing to it as the explanation for this rather stunning success.

But why Sunday?

“It’s been here, it’s just been a matter of putting it all together," said right guard Jason Spitz. “It’s been one thing here, one thing there. It’s a matter of continuity and consistency. That’s been killing us. It was just one of those things where we all …"

All together now …

“executed."

It was the same word that surrounded the offensive line last week, but was being used in a rather slightly different connotation.

“The film never lies, it always shows what you’ve done," said right tackle Mark Tauscher of last week’s abysmal showing in a 28-27 loss at Minnesota, where the Packers managed just 184 yards total offense because they couldn’t run the ball or protect their meal ticket.

“We just didn’t get the job done," he said. “You just have to suck it up, accept it, take the criticism and move forward and I thought we did a good job of handling that."

Certainly after that showing it came down to execute or be executed, for the executioners were forming a disturbingly long line.

"They took some heat from not only the media but the guys in the locker room," quarterback Aaron Rodgers said of his entourage. “I had a lot of confidence in them, every position, but I feel like they had something to prove today and they did."

It was not just the running game they helped bring to life, but they also kept Rodgers upright the entire afternoon.

Common sense said that if the Packers were to overcome the Bears, it would be by dissecting a pass defense ranked 30th in the league. Combine that with coach Mike McCarthy’s affection for the forward pass and it made perfect sense to believe Rodgers might throw for 400 yards. But he ended up with just 27 more total yards than the run game.

For reasons known only to him, McCarthy finally paid more than lip service to his long-stated commitment to running the ball.

“This is November football and this is how you have to do it," he said, stating the obvious.

What we can’t be certain of is if Sunday’s effort was merely a one-trick pony, or will the commitment and more importantly – once more, with feeling – “execution" remain.

If it does, if the Packers really found themselves, then they have a chance to make something of themselves the final six weeks. If not, they will continue to be just average.

“It’s a step in the right direction," said left guard Daryn Colledge. “After you have a bad game like we did last week it’s easy to snowball and it’s easy to let that build and lose confidence.

“We knew we were a good team. We knew we weren’t the team that was in Minnesota. We made the corrections this week and we’re trying to get better. We’re trying to keep taking steps forward and we’re going to find ourselves in a good situation."

God only knows.

Mike Woods can be reached at (920) 993-1000, Ext. 232, or at mwoods@postcrescent.com