Victory a big stress reliever

But pressure on for consistency

Green Bay — The immediate aftermath of what might be remembered as a season-saving victory in Philadelphia looked something like this: Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams was whisked away to a television set for a celebratory interview; center Corey Linsley spoke passionately as he eschewed the idea of must-win games; general manager Ted Thompson and team president Mark Murphy congratulated players across the locker room.

Glee replaced gloom as the Packers measured the Eagles, 27-13.

“Shoot,” outside linebacker Clay Matthews said, “it’s a lot better than a loss.”

A day later, inside the media auditorium at Lambeau Field, the initial joy of winning was replaced by honest introspection. These Packers, whose season teetered after four straight losses, had pulled off a ruse that minimized worry and professed calm in the face of widespread criticism.

Not until Tuesday did coach Mike McCarthy lift the veil slightly through a lengthy diatribe at his afternoon news conference.

His words, backed by strengthening emotion, aired publicly the angst some of his players kept private during the last month. If their locker room celebration had been pure joy, McCarthy’s words were the accompanying catharsis.

“There’s nothing like winning,” McCarthy said. “I mean, that’s what this is all about. It’s about winning football games. Felt good, it was definitely way too long.”

In the preceding weeks, when the Packers were man-

Raleigh, N.C. — Federal judges told the North Carolina legislature Tuesday to redraw its own districts by midMarch to replace ones the judges previously struck down and to hold a special election using the new maps in November 2017.

The ruling means those elected to the state House and Senate a few weeks ago would serve just one year, not two as expected.

The same three-judge panel last summer said 28 of the General Assembly’s 170 districts were illegal racial gerrymanders but decided it was too late in the election cycle to redraw new maps and conduct elections under them this month.

Attorneys representing legislative mapmakers wanted until next July to redraw boundaries and hold elections at the next usual election date in November 2018. Lawyers for the voters who successfully sued to overturn the districts wanted new maps in place in late January and said it wasn’t right for voters to have to wait another two years to cast ballots under lawful maps.

Last week in Wisconsin, a federal court struck down legislative maps drawn by Republicans in 2011, ruling that they were unconstitutional.

Republicans in both states said they plan to appeal the rulings.