The Green Bay Packers (3-2) sunk the visiting Minnesota Vikings (2-3) in a fashion rarely seen in the long-running border rivalry, scoring the game's first 42 points in a 42-10 win that ranks as Green Bay's third highest margin of victory over Minnesota in the 108-game series. 

It was over when…

…rookie receiver Davante Adams caught his first and Aaron Rodgers' 200th career touchdown pass, which gave the Packers a 28-0 lead with just under five minutes to go in the first half. Any team quarterbacked by Christian Ponder wasn't making up a 28-point deficit in one half, especially on the road in rainy conditions at Lambeau Field. 

Game Balls

• Eddie Lacy: Mike McCarthy sounded unusually irritated in the lead up to Thursday about the negativity surrounding the Packers run game. Lacy, who hadn't cracked 50 rushing yards yet this season, ran like he wanted to eradicate every last doubter. He finished with 105 yards on just 13 carries, and his back-to-back touchdown runs in the second half were performed in bowling ball fashion. Robert Blanton will never not have nightmares of No. 27. Eddie's back. 
• Julius Peppers: The 34-year-old Peppers looked 24 on his pick-six in the second quarter. He comfortably dropped back into coverage and made the interception, before flashing some serious vision and wheels on his way to the end zone. In the process, he became the first player in NFL history to have at least 100 sacks and 10 interceptions. Peppers also had a half-sack and one other quarterback hit. His impact through five games has been everything the Packers ever could have dreamed, and then some. 
• Tim Masthay: Hey, back-to-back weeks with Masthay winning the special teams game ball. He earned it Thursday after a sarcastic honor last week. Masthay's six punts resulted in five inside the 20-yard line and a 50.7-yard average. His long was 58. He should take a week off more often. 

Stat of the Game 

80 on 99; 64-0: Two stats are worth mention here, and they go beyond just this game. Over the last two weeks, the Packers have scored 80 points on just 99 plays. Who cares about getting to 75 plays when scoring is this easy? Also, from the 3:50 mark in the second quarter against Chicago to the end of the third quarter Thursday, the Packers went on a 66-0 run. Yes, that's 66 points scored, zero allowed. Not bad. 

Other Notes

-- Aaron Rodgers threw for just 156 yards, his second lowest ever in a start not ended by injury. He completed just 12 passes, tied for his fewest. Of course, the Packers still scored 42 points. That comes a week after Green Bay gave up 235 rushing yards and allowed only 17 points. What a funny game this football is. 

-- Poor Christian Ponder never had a chance. Not only did the league's worst run defense only allow 111 rushing yards, but Ponder was also sacked six times and hit another 16 times. He's going to be a sore quarterback tomorrow. Much will be made about the absence of Teddy Bridgewater, but would a rookie quarterback with a bum ankle have made a significant difference given the unrelenting pressure provided by the Packers Thursday night? I think not. The Packers would have blown out Fran Tarkenton. 

-- Morgan Burnett played his finest game in probably two-plus years. He was everywhere, but in also position, forcing turnovers (fumble, his first since 2012) and always flying to the football. In fact, the whole defense played faster than we've seen it in some time. Maybe the confidence of facing Ponder and the conditions at Lambeau Field fueled the frenzy. But this was a dominating effort. The Vikings ran 75 plays and managed just 299 yards. Minnesota's 14 drives ended in 12 empty possessions, including seven punts and three turnovers. Last week's slinky defense turned into the bully Thursday night. 

-- Few random thoughts: Luther Robinson's hit of Ponder's arm, which set up Peppers' pick-six, was reminiscent of Howard Green's play against Ben Roethlisberger in Super Bowl XLV. The resulting return was certainly comparable…Davante Adams caught Rodgers' 200th touchdown pass. You'd think he should be a prime candidate to also catch his 300th…Kudos to starting Jamari Lattimore over a returning Brad Jones. It would have been criminal to make that switch back….Randall Cobb now has six touchdown catches, which leads the NFL. Jordy Nelson and Cobb have caught 10 of Rodgers' 12 touchdown passes this season…Speaking of scores, no tandem makes the deep bomb look prettier than Rodgers and Nelson. That play—the play-action mini-roll out with Nelson running the double move deep—works two or three times a season, and it never gets old.

-- The 3-2 Packers now get a mini bye, with 10 days separating Thursday night and next Sunday's trip to the sunny shores of Miami. Former Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin and the Dolphins await. A win in the Florida heat will give Green Bay a 4-2 mark after six games, which would officially calm the panic of the 1-2 start.

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].