GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Carolina Panthers needed 75 minutes to determine the outcome of last week’s tie at Cincinnati. But the outcome of Sunday’s game at Green Bay was determined long before the end of the 30-minute first half.

The Packers scored the first 28 points and crushed the Panthers 38-17 in a battle of first-place teams and NFC contenders at Lambeau Field.

For the second consecutive home game, quarterback Aaron Rodgers got to enjoy the end of the game from the bench. In three quarters, he completed 19 of 22 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns, with his passer rating of 154.5 falling just short of the NFL’s measure of perfection, 158.3.

Wide receiver Randall Cobb had six catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, and wide receiver Jordy Nelson had four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown — all in the first quarter.

Green Bay (5-2) was off and rolling on Rodgers’ 59-yard touchdown pass to Nelson, with running backs Eddie Lacy and James Starks adding rushing touchdowns as the Packers led 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.

All of the scores were attained easily against what was one of the top defenses in the league last season. On the first score, Nelson beat cornerback Antoine Cason on a deep pass, then made veteran safety Roman Harper look foolish on a cutback at about the 30. On the second touchdown, Lacy stutter-stepped in the hole, then waltzed into the end zone around right end. On the third, Starks started right and then cut back left, where he wasn’t touched until he plowed through two defensive backs near the goal line.

The Packers extended the lead to 28-0 with a 94-yard drive in the second quarter. Cobb’s 47-yard catch and run set up his 3-yard touchdown — his eighth of the season.

Rodgers was 15 of 17 for 194 yards and two touchdowns at halftime as Green Bay piled up 271 yards. Carolina (3-3-1) had 113 first-half yards, with quarterback Cam Newton’s 32-yard completion to receiver Kelvin Benjamin setting up a field goal on the final play of the half that made it 28-3.

The Packers tacked on another touchdown, with Rodgers hitting wide receiver Davante Adams for a 21-yard score one play after a 33-yard catch-and-run by Cobb converted a third-and-6.

Carolina’s star linebacker, Luke Kuechly, was ejected late in the third quarter. After a fumble, Kucehly was pulled off the pile by Packers tight end Richard Rodgers. One of the officials tried to restrain Kuechly by grabbing his arm, with Kuechly — perhaps thinking he was being grabbed by one of the Packers — forcefully pulling his arm away from the official.

Carolina scored its first touchdown with 9:39 remaining in the game, when Newton hit Benjamin from 13 yards. Tight end Greg Olsen had a big game, with eight catches for 105 yards.

Newton was replaced by Derek Anderson midway through the fourth quarter, and Anderson led the Panthers to a late score. After Newton threw for 284 yards and rushed for 107 last week against the Bengals, he threw for 205 and rushed for 41 against Green Bay.

The Packers have won four in a row overall and 10 in a row in October.

NOTES: Carolina has allowed 35-plus points in four of its last five games. Last season, it ranked in the top five in just about every meaningful defensive statistic. … Green Bay held a 172-5 edge in yardage after the first quarter. … With an incompletion in the second quarter, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers extended his streak to 182 consecutive passes without an interception, the longest streak of his career and second-longest in franchise history (Bart Starr, 294). … The Panthers were without four starters, including standout RB DeAngelo Williams and LB Chase Blackburn. Without Blackburn, A.J. Klein — who grew up about a half-hour from Lambeau Field in Kimberly — got the start. When G Trai Turner sustained a knee injury, the Panthers were without both of their starting guards, with Amini Silatolu (calf) among the inactives. A third starting lineman, LT Byron Bell, sustained an elbow injury in the third quarter. … The Packers were without two starters, CB Sam Shields and DE Datone Jones. Davon House, who replaced Shields, sustained an injured finger in the fourth quarter. … Before the game, Packers TE Richard Rodgers Jr. played catch with his father, Carolina special teams coordinator Richard Rodgers Sr.