It’s a trait all great players have. In many ways it’s a prerequisite. When one of their critics handed them a big plateful of doubts, they took it and shoved it right back down their throats.

We saw it with LeBron James earlier this summer. We saw it with Michael Phelps at the Olympics. And now, we just saw it with Aaron Rodgers.

After weeks of growing questions about the state of Rodgers’ game, the Packers quarterback responded with what was probably his best game since the middle of last season. It was so good that his stats don’t do it justice: 205 yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions, 13.6 yards per attempt,14 more yards rushing, and it’s no surprise it happened this week. He was so efficient in possession that he didn’t even leave himself time to inflate his own numbers.

Much of the criticism was, it’s fair to say, justified.

Not only was it all couched in an impossibly delicate tone, it came after a prolonged benefit of the doubt period that only the true greats enjoy. Look at the stats and you’ll find a mediocre quarterback for almost a full season. Maybe it was Jordy Nelson’s absence all along, or bad play-calling from the offensive coordinator, but when you’re talking about such a prolonged period of time, it’s only fair to ask the question.

“I’m going to do my job,” Rodgers said earlier this week in response. “I’m going to do it as well as I can every week, and everybody’s got to do their job well. I know I’ve got to play better, and I will.”

And he did.

Rodgers was ruthlessly effective. He carved the Lions defense open time and time again, keeping the Lions an arm’s length away like big kid would his little brother. There were things that helped him do this, of course. The Lions secondary was weak coming into the game, and Eddie Lacy’s 103 yards on the ground meant they had more than one thing to worry about.

But even that comes back to Rodgers. He terrorized Detroit as a mad surgeon would a scapula. He may not have been the free-wheeling we got used to when Rodgers first came onto the scene, but it didn’t need to be. It was decisive and refined, paired with a mindset all great athletes have: That you can doubt all you want, because sooner or later, you’re going to have to eat it.