Faced with an opponent on its dying breath, the merciless Green Bay Packers (6-3) ripped out of the football heart of the Chicago Bears (3-6) and then buried the remains—embarrassing the team’s long-time rival with a complete dissection that likely ends Chicago season and has few rivals in the storied history between the two clubs. 

It was over when…

…the coin flip hit the Lambeau Field turf? When Mason Crosby kicked off? In literal terms, Rodgers’ third touchdown pass of the first half—he would go into half time with six—provided the winning points with 14:48 left in the second quarter. A more practical dagger could have been thrown roughly two minutes later, when Jordy Nelson tightroped the end-zone sideline for a 28-0 lead, or when Julius Peppers delivered a strip-sack and recovery of Jay Cutler to set up the sixth score of the first half. Daggers were flying like bullets at Lambeau Sunday night. 

Game Balls

• Aaron Rodgers: He threw six first-half touchdowns, tying a career high and joining Daryle Lamonica as the only quarterbacks to throw six scores over the first 30 minutes of a game. He probably would have tossed eight or nine touchdowns had he played the entire contest. His superlative first half and a commanding lead allowed for only one possession in the second half. He led the Packers to a field goal and then took the rest of the night off. Over roughly six quarters against the Bears in 2014, Rodgers tossed 10 touchdowns. 
• Clay Matthews: The Packers spent the bye week secretly moving Matthews to inside linebacker. After one game, the experiment has to be considered a huge success. Matthews was active like always but more disruptive overall, and his ability to play inside on early downs and on the edge during passing situations really opened up his game. He led the team with 11 total tackles and two tackles for loss, and he also had a sack (would have had two if not for a penalty). We’ll touch on this below.
• Mason Crosby: He had no problems with a 52-yard attempt and made all seven of his extra points for a 13-point night. Quietly, Crosby has started the season 13 for 14, with his only miss coming on a blocked kick. 

Stat of the Game 

42-0: Another 100 years of Packers-Bears games might be played before we see another first-half scoreline like this one. Sunday’s affair got out of hand so fast that the Bears were going for it on fourth down in the second quarter. Who knows what the final would have been had starters from both clubs played the full 60 minutes. 

Other Notes

-- Matthews at inside linebacker has always been an idea I’ve scoffed at. Moving a team’s best pass rusher to inside linebacker seemed to reek of desperation. I can freely admit my assumptions of the move were dead wrong. Yes, it’s only been one game. But Matthews played without hesitation, added some juice against the run and was just as disruptive from the inside as he typically is from the edge. Even better, the Packers still allowed him to move back to outside linebacker on obvious passing downs. It’s potentially the best of both worlds. In theory, the Packers have fixed a huge problem area without sacrificing an important asset on the edge—provided Nick Perry and the outside linebacker rotation holds up its end of the bargain. Having the best 11 players on the field can’t hurt. 

-- I do wonder how little this win says about the Packers and how much it says about the Bears. Yes, Rodgers threw six first-half touchdowns, but the Bears didn’t have a defender within five yards of Jordy Nelson on either touchdown pass, and a random fan 12-deep into Wisco Disco could have stumbled his or her way into the end zone on the screen play to Eddie Lacy. On defense, the Packers did to Jay Cutler what they always do to Jay Cutler. Jarrett Boykin blocked a punt with his foot. I think this was more a case of the Packers taking advantage of a really bad football team on a really bad night than anything else. The Bears threw in the towel early, but credit the Packers for keeping the foot on the gas. 

-- Amazingly, the 55-14 scoreline was probably not representative of the true gap between the two teams Sunday night. Keep in mind, Randall Cobb fumbled inside the 10-yard line in the first half and the Bears got a score off a late kick return. This very well could have been a 62-7 final, which would have set the new record for margin of victory in the series (current holder is Chicago’s 61-7 win back in 1980).

-- Rodgers’ MVP case got a much-needed shot in the arm after the loss in New Orleans. Throwing for six scores in one half will open some eyes. He now has 25 touchdowns against just three interceptions, putting him on pace for 44 and 5. He threw 45 and 6 back in 2011. 

-- The two-team race in the NFC North is officially on. The Bears are now in hibernation mode but the cardiac Lions keep winning. The Packers are 6-3; the Lions 7-2. Seven games remain, with a Week 17 showdown at Lambeau Field looking like a potential winner-take-all meeting. The Packers welcome the Philadelphia Eagles to Lambeau Field next Sunday. 

Zach Kruse contributes to Cheesehead TV. He is also the Lead Writer for the NFC North at Bleacher Report. You can reach him on Twitter @zachkruse2 or by email at [email protected].