Turn back the clock to before 7.45pm last Wednesday and the Dons were riding the crest of a wave of euphoria following their emphatic 3-1 win at Hearts.
Less than one week and two defeats later, and suddenly everything in the Pittodrie garden doesn’t feel quite so rosy.
The League Cup exit at Hibernian was a surprise which few saw coming. After all Derek McInnes side were league leaders, had just beaten last season’s Championship winners on their own turf and were playing lower league opposition.
Yes, that lower league team was Hibs, who are a Premiership side in all but status, but the loss of Willo Flood and Graeme Shinnie, mixed with a jaded display in their second game in four days in Edinburgh, contributed to a 2-0 loss for Aberdeen.
To a man, from the manager to the players, the message was one of disappointment but a steely resolve to bounce back – which makes the 2-1 loss at Inverness on Saturday all the more inexplicable.
To be fair to McInnes, he is at a loss to explain his side’s first half display at Caledonian Stadium too.
They were 2-0 down inside the opening half hour and could have been trailing by more had it not been for some fine saves from goalkeeper Danny Ward.
Ash Taylor’s header reduced the deficit before the sense of urgency which has been the hallmark of the eight league wins came to the fore again but for all their pressure the Dons could not muster an equaliser in the Highlands.
Was it a case of five games in a fortnight or three away matches in a week being two hurdles too far for the Dons?
Time will tell on that one but it was clear McInnes was conscious of the strain being put on his squad as he tried to freshen up the side for the last two matches and the injuries to Willo Flood, Graeme Shinnie and Niall McGinn have done little to help matters.
But maybe the back to back defeats will ultimately serve as a timely reminder there can be no coasting, no easing off the accelerator.
Aberdeen are top of the league and no doubt want to stay there. Getting in the faces of their opponents, nullifying the threat and then imposing their will on the other team is the reason why.
Those qualities have been in short supply for 135 of the last 180 minutes and everyone at Pittodrie knows it.
The visit of St Johnstone on Saturday, a team who are excellent at making life difficult for their opponents in their own right, will be no less of a challenge than the previous two matches have been.
This is the last match before the Dons get the chance to recharge the batteries during the international break and McInnes will be demanding a win to improve the mood at the club and show the last two games have been nothing more than a blip.
The fact the Dons are also in action a day earlier than their rivals when the action resumes at Ross County on October 16 will not have gone unnoticed at Pittodrie either.
Chances to exert as much pressure on champions Celtic at every turn must be taken. One was missed on Saturday as the Hoops drew 0-0 with Hearts at the same time as the Dons’ 100% record was came to an end.
As a result the gap is down to four points when it could have been extended to seven had the Dons won in Inverness.
Opportunities like those cannot be missed as we’re only two months into the campaign but already every point feels important.