GREEN BAY, Wis. — Almost to a man, the Green Bay Packers were peculiarly reserved after what many feel was their best win of the season.

Green Bay outlasted the New England Patriots 26-21 in a battle of NFL heavyweights on the frozen turf at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Yet, even as the pundits promptly propped them up as the team to beat the final two months of the season, the Packers weren’t remotely jubilant.

“I just think they were mesmerized for the fact they got an extra day off. They were speechless,” coach Mike McCarthy quipped Monday.

McCarthy is taking advantage of the Packers’ being idle until they host the Atlanta Falcons next Monday night by implementing a mini-bye at the start of this week. The players are off through Wednesday before returning to the field Thursday.

When they reconvene, it can’t be lost on them that their gritty victory over the Patriots has them in position to take control of the NFC the last four weeks of the regular season, seize home-field advantage in the playoffs at a venue where they are 6-0 this season.

The players, however, didn’t want to hear any of that after they ended New England’s seven-game winning streak.

“Yeah, it was a big win, we beat a very good team, but we didn’t win any trophies, didn’t win any titles (Sunday),” right guard T.J. Lang said. “We improved to 9-3, and that was the goal … but we didn’t win any titles.”

Green Bay, which won for the eighth time in nine games, is tied with the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles for the best record in the NFC. The Cardinals currently would have the No. 1 seed for the playoffs based on a better conference record than that of the Packers, who would be No. 2.

That could quickly change, though. The Cardinals, who have lost two straight, have a challenging final four games left, while Green Bay seemingly has a much more winnable closing quartet.

The Packers still might have to fend off the Detroit Lions (8-4) for the NFC North title. The teams meet in the regular-season finale Dec. 28, but that is at Lambeau, where Green Bay hasn’t lost since falling 23-20 to the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of last season’s playoffs.

Still, Green Bay received what McCarthy termed “a little extra nugget of confidence” by weathering New England’s late comeback bid in subfreezing conditions. A big third-down sack by linebacker Mike Neal and defensive end Mike Daniels of quarterback Tom Brady with the Patriots at Green Bay’s 20-yard line with three minutes preserved the Packers’ lead.

“It’s the way you want to go into the fourth quarter (of the season),” McCarthy said. “It was obviously an excellent win for our football team, to go up against an excellent opponent. It’s definitely something we can build off of. We talk about stacking success all of the time. We’ve had a very good month of November (4-0 record). So, our goal is to play better in December than November.”

REPORT CARD VS. PATRIOTS

PASSING OFFENSE: B — Given the high caliber of the opponent and what the final outcome in their favor meant for the Packers’ solidifying themselves as the team to beat in the NFC, QB Aaron Rodgers might have had his finest outing this season thus far. The Patriots’ steadfast plan to try to shut down WRs Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb didn’t keep Rodgers from throwing for 368 yards — his second-highest output in 2014 — and two touchdowns without a miscue. He extended his league-record streak to 360 passes without an interception in home games going back to 2012.

RUSHING OFFENSE: B-minus — The Packers continued their recent trend of providing balance to their pass-first attack by running the football with regularity. Green Bay had at least 25 rushing attempts for the fourth consecutive game, and its final total of 130 yards is its fourth highest ground total this season. A good chunk of the output came on just five explosive runs.

PASS DEFENSE: B — The only sack of QB Tom Brady proved to be the saving grace for a defense that was on the ropes in the fourth quarter. The defense applied a good amount of pressure on Brady, prompting several imprecise throws. OLBs Julius Peppers (two) and Clay Matthews combined for three deflected passes at the line of scrimmage. Brady finished 22-for-35 for 245 yards but without a turnover.

RUSH DEFENSE: B-minus — For only the second time in 12 games this season, the Packers didn’t allow 100 rushing yards. The Patriots managed 84 yards, but that was mostly in part because they resorted to throwing the football two times more than they ran it (17 times, not including a Brady kneel-down to end the opening half) after spotting Green Bay a 13-0 lead in the first quarter. With the margin in single digits for most of the final three quarters, New England had moderate success on the ground against a defense that was plagued by missed tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C — Mason Crosby kept the Packers safely ahead for most of the game by connecting on four field goals, all within 35 yards after failed red-zone visits. However, the veteran kicker missed wide left on a 40-yard attempt in the third quarter. Crosby also sent a directional kickoff inside the New England 20 out of bounds in the opening quarter. Tim Masthay’s lone punt was short for 38 yards with little hang time down the middle, but Danny Amendola returned it only 3 yards with room to run on the catch. Packers PR Micah Hyde inexcusably chased after the bouncing football early in the game and fumbled it on his pick-up but was fortunate that it went out of bounds to avoid a turnover deep in Green Bay territory. KR DuJuan Harris averaged a pedestrian 22.5 yards on his four runbacks. The Packers’ coverage units held Amendola to an even-worse average of 19 yards on four opportunities.

COACHING: A — The combination of head coach/offensive play-caller Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Dom Capers had the upper hand on Patriots sideline boss Bill Belichick with their game plans and shrewd in-game adjustments. McCarthy responded to New England’s ploy to render Nelson and Cobb ineffective in the passing game by having Rodgers exploit WR Davante Adams’ advantage against young nickel back Logan Ryan on the perimeter. Then, when Belichick shifted the coverage assignments to account for Adams, McCarthy moved Cobb around liberally in the backfield and at the different receiver spots to get the playmaker open in space. Capers had Brady out of sync at times with the pressure calls. Then, when it mattered most on third down late in the game, players credited Capers for setting up the big sack by changing up the pass coverage from man to zone, possibly forcing Brady to hold onto the football just a tad too long.