The last thing the Wisconsin sporting public needs is another cruel tease.

Whenever a bandwagon comes to a jarring halt, as happened with the Brewers last month and the Badgers over the past two Saturdays, spirits sink and the collective psyche of the passengers takes a beating.

Are the Packers heading for such a crash?

A ramshackle 17-14 victory over Washington Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field left Green Bay with a 5-1 record heading into the break.

But, the Packers really don't look like a 5-1 team, do they?

Their running game is a rumor. The passing game looks pedestrian, particularly when the superstar quarterback has a tough day (like Sunday). In his first exposure to bad weather, the kicker got caught with his rookie showing.

The only thing that saved the Packers was an outstanding defense, which featured huge plays by Charles Woodson, Nick Barnett and Aaron Kampman, who channeled his inner Reggie White in key moments and either bullrushed past offensive linemen or simply hurled them at ballcarriers.

Oh, and it helped that the Redskins dropped a bunch of passes, too.

Some observations from the afternoon:

On the mark: Fox analyst Troy Aikman hit the nail on the head with this post-game quote:

"Coming into it I really felt that by the time the game ended we would have a much better feel for the Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers as far as where they are or where they stack up," Aikman said. "I don't have any better feel now than when I came into the game. I don't know whether Green Bay does, either."

Is it just us, or is the NFC North beginning to resemble the National League Central?

Honesty: The Packers clearly screwed up in the final two minutes. Nursing a three-point lead with 1:22 left, Green Bay had punter Jon Ryan kick the ball away with 15 seconds on the play clock.

Coach Mike McCarthy took the blame for the play.

"That's poor time management," McCarthy said. "That's my responsibility. I was in a conversation on the third-down call. That's no excuse. That can't happen. That was clearly a mistake on my part."

Top of the list: Packers quarterback Brett Favre threw two interceptions, which moved him past George Blanda on the all-time list (279). Interestingly, no ceremony was held to mark the event. Favre was 19 of 37 for 188 yards.

Beat up: The Packers look like a team in need of a bye. Never mind the injuries to Scott Wells and Junius Coston, it's players like Al Harris and Woodson who need some time off.

No recourse: Bubba Franks sure looked like he was pushed out of the end zone on that lay, but the Packers didn't have the option of challenging the call.

Big play: Woodson's 57-yard fumble recovery may have been the most memorable defensive play of the game, but the biggest, in our view, came when Barnett stuffed Ladell Betts on a swing pass on fourth and 2 from the Packers 33.

Barnett and Kampman have been underrated heroes for the defense this season

Just wondering: Woodson is an outstanding cover corner, but last week we questioned his ability to turn the corner on punt returns and this week we have to ask: did he look kind of slow on that touchdown run? He seemed to have trouble breaking away from Jason Campbell.

By the numbers: The key stats for the Packers' offense were 38, 43.5 and 56.

38 - Donald Driver's receiving yards

43.5 - Farve's passer rating.

56 - Total rushing yards by the Packers Sunday.

Next up: After the bye week, the Packers will return to action with an appearance on "Monday Night Football" on Oct 29 in Denver. That game will coincide with Game 5 of the World Series, which apparently will include the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies beat Arizona on Sunday night to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the NLCS.