GREEN BAY —In the postgame scrums around the lockers of various players Sunday night at Lambeau Field, television reporters searched for a soundbite.

Where does this victory rank? What statement did this make? How important was it as a measuring stick?

Every member of the Green Bay Packers that was asked, at least when I was present, didn’t bite.

There was no greater meaning. It was a win, a home win over a non-divisional, non-conference opponent.

Aaron Rodgers perhaps said it best when he asked if there was anythings special he’d remember about the win.

"Not really," he said, without the slight grin you’ll often see when he’s being playful.

"It was a good win for us."

Yes, there was respect for New England, its coaches and players, and they knew the Patriots were a very good team. But no one was going to say it was the biggest win of the season. No one was going to say "we’ve arrived as Super Bowl favorites."

No, that’s now things work in Green Bay and in head coach Mike McCarthy’s locker room.

"I just think it’s about stacking successes," McCarthy said after the game. "As you get into the season, it’s our ninth win, our goal is always to get to 10 wins and then look around and see what’s going on. We’ll keep our nose down to the grindstone and get ready for the Atlanta Falcons."

He did allow this, though: "Let’s be real, we beat a heck of a football team tonight and with that, you get a little extra nugget of confidence that goes with it."

I received a few tweets and text messages in the following days, and then again when I visited with Mike Wickett and Chuck Friedmund of 105.7 The Fan on Monday asking that game made me a believer in the Packers, that they could legitimately contend for a Super Bowl berth.

Yes, it did change my opinion.

It wasn’t so much that they won, but how both sides of the ball played, how varied defensive coordinator Dom Capers was with his players and how creative McCarthy was on offense.

It was a complete performance.

And, the attitude postgame mattered, too.

It is very business-like. Regular season wins matter. The players appreciate them – they know how hard it is to do it – but the end result for these guys is a Super Bowl.

Rookies Corey Linsley, Davante Adams, Richard Rodgers and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix are being asked to fulfill major roles and make big, individual plays in games, but none of them exude freshman-like exuberance or excitement.

Some players are pushing themselves to a different level of production (like Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb) and shrug it off, saying that it is expected.

Then you have star, highly-paid veterans who willingly moving outside of their comfort zone for the good of the team (Julius Peppers, Clay Matthews) or team leaders being asked to reduce their role at times (A.J. Hawk).

Now, winning cures all.

If the record was reversed, perhaps there is some griping. But that’s the point. The Packers are 9-3 because of these things. I’ve seen first hand what can happen to a team when the players, and key players, don’t buy in. These guys have all bought in, and we’ve seen the results.

The attitude in that locker room indicates they know how good they are, but know the work it will take to get the end result. For as young as this Packers roster is, on average, an astounding 20 players remain off that 2010 Super Bowl team. And Peppers, a true leader, went to a Super Bowl in Carolina in 2003.

A handful of others on the roster joined the team in 2011, the 15-1 campaign that resulted in a disappointing home playoff loss. Trust me, the 20 who won the Super Bowl the year before remember that loss just as well.

McCarthy talks about stacking successes, and this is a group that knows how to do just that. The Packers have won four straight, and eight of nine. They are 6-0 at home.

And if they "look around" the NFC Monday night after beating the Atlanta Falcons to secure their 10th win, the Packers may see the rest of the conference sitting below them.