GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Thursday night massacres continue.

The Green Bay Packers blew out the Minnesota Vikings 42-10 at Lambeau Field. After the first four Thursday night games were decided by an average of 28.25 points, this game between NFC North foes was just as one-sided. Two first-quarter Green Bay touchdowns in a span of four minutes made it 14-0 and the outcome was never in doubt.

Packers running back Eddie Lacy, the reigning Rookie of the Year, entered the night with 161 rushing yards and one touchdown this season. He rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns before watching the fourth quarter from the sideline.

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes and had a passer rating of 138.7 before sitting out the final period, as well. He completed 12 of 17 passes for 156 yards.

The Packers’ maligned defense forced three turnovers, including linebacker Julius Peppers’ interception and 49-yard return for a second-quarter touchdown.

For Green Bay (3-2), it was a satisfying victory capping a stretch of three division games in a span of 12 days. After losing at Detroit, the Packers rebounded with convincing wins over Chicago and Minnesota.

“Obviously, we feel good about what we accomplished as a football team, the offense coming out and getting the first score on the board and really the defense breaking the game open with the takeaways,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “Clearly, a dominant victory. But with that, we’re glad that this three-game stretch is over.”

In the days before the game, several Packers players were critical of the weekly Thursday games, with guard Josh Sitton the most vocal, calling the games “stupid.” Certainly, the dominating fashion of the performance will have Green Bay enjoying its mini-bye week.

Meanwhile, the short-handed Vikings (2-3) will use the extra days to lick their wounds. They trailed 42-0 through three quarters but got on the scoreboard with quarterback Christian Ponder’s 6-yard scramble on the first play of the fourth. Minnesota safety Harrison Smith had a fourth-quarter interception to set up a short field goal by Blair Walsh.

“We have to want it more than our opponent does,” Vikings defensive end Brian Robison said. “Bottom line: I didn’t feel like we wanted it more than our opponent tonight. Guys had their heads down, and that is not stuff you want to see on the sidelines.”

Green Bay forced three turnovers en route to a 28-0 halftime lead.

The Packers struck first as their dormant running game awoke from its slumber. Lacy, who entered the game averaging just 3 yards per carry with a long of 17, broke off back-to-back runs of 18 and 29 yards.

“I thought he was a beast in the open field,” McCarthy said.

The big gains set up Rodgers’ 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Randall Cobb.

Green Bay scored again on its next series. Rodgers went play-action, which got wide receiver Jordy Nelson well behind Smith for a 66-yard touchdown.

In the first half, the Packers’ defense took care of business against a Vikings’ offense without embattled running back Adrian Peterson and injured quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

The Vikings’ first five possessions produced only two first downs. The sixth possession ended in a Green Bay touchdown.

Ponder, feeling pressure from defensive lineman Luther Robinson, badly underthrew intended receiver Cordarrelle Patterson and threw it right to Peppers, who returned the pick for a score to make it 21-0 with 6:51 to go in the first half. He needed instruction from safety Morgan Burnett to make his inaugural Lambeau Leap.

“Well, that was my first time,” Peppers said with a smile. “Next time, I’ll be sure to get up there ASAP.”

What the Packers said:

“Tough stretch for us. We had three division games, two on the road. (A) 2-1 (record) in the division is good. First winning record this season, 3-2. Got a nice little weekend off here. But a lot to improve on, I think. Offensively we’re a little stagnant tonight. We didn’t have a lot of attempts in the passing game. Didn’t execute very well on third down, but the bright spots were 4-for-4 in the red zone and we got (running backs) Eddie (Lacy) and James (Starks) going.” — Quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

“(The Vikings’) objective is to protect the quarterback, and if you can disrupt them, that can take them out their rhythm. You saw, we had two interceptions, one for a touchdown, and some good pass breakups as well, so it’s a team sport. (The defensive backs) have to cover them in the back and we have to get after them up front, and I think we did that pretty well today.” — Defensive tackle Mike Daniels.

What the Vikings said:

“It’s frustrating when people can run the ball down your throats, that’s what’s frustrating. To give up big plays and a play that shouldn’t have happened. The long touchdown to (Jordy) Nelson, that shouldn’t have happened. Guys getting out of their spots in the running game, that was frustrating.” — Coach Mike Zimmer.

“No, it is not (fair to criticize quarterback Christian Ponder). It is a team game. You have to put the blame on yourself. You can’t point fingers. We just need to play better football.” — Running back Matt Asiata.

What we learned about the Packers:

1. Plenty was written and said about the lack of a running game for the first four games of the season. However, the Jets and Bears, specifically, played to take away Green Bay’s rushing attack by keeping an extra defender in the box. The Vikings didn’t do that and, as a result, Green Bay’s running game roared to life. Running back Eddie Lacy needed only three quarters and 13 attempts to rush for 105 yards and two touchdowns. “I don’t think like you do,” coach Mike McCarthy said when asked if his rushing attack enjoyed a breakout performance. “It was an excellent victory tonight and the run game was part of it. So, yeah, I thought we ran the ball well.”

2. This is the formula the Packers rode to a bunch of victories in 2009, 2010 and 2011: The offense puts the team in front, and the defense takes control. The Packers sacked Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder six times — matching Green Bay’s season total — and the secondary picked off two passes. Green Bay has forced eight turnovers the past three weeks. “When we were up 21-0, 28-0, that there was no let-up,” linebacker A.J. Hawk said. “We wanted to make sure we kicked it into overdrive then.”

–QB Aaron Rodgers’ third touchdown pass of the game gave him 200 for his career. He reached the milestone in 99 games. Only Dan Marino (89 games) got there faster. “My 100th touchdown was in Atlanta, and James (Jones) threw the ball about 80 rows up,” he said. “And 200 was to Davante (Adams), his first touchdown. I’m not going to take his ball. Hopefully I can get to 300 and throw it to a guy who’s caught a touchdown before so I can keep that one.” Rodgers posted a 138.7 passer rating. He topped 130 in six of his past seven games against the Vikings.

–OLB Julius Peppers returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-0. He is the first player in NFL history with 100 sacks and 10 interceptions. “It’s a neat stat, so that’s pretty much it. It’s neat,” he said.

What we learned about the Vikings:

1. The Vikings obviously made the right call when they drafted quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in the first round and moved on from 2011 first-rounder Christian Ponder. With Bridgewater sidelined due to a sprained ankle, Ponder was terrible. The Packers led 28-0 at halftime, with Ponder going 8-for-18 for 60 yards and two interceptions. One of those interceptions was returned for a touchdown, and another set up a touchdown. “After playing like that,” Ponder said, “you don’t have much to say. It was embarrassing.” He finished 22-for-44 for 222 yards.

2. First-year Vikings coach Mike Zimmer made his name as the coordinator of some excellent defenses, including a top-notch unit in Cincinnati. He has a lot of work to do to have a defense of that caliber. It certainly doesn’t help that veteran linebacker Chad Greenway is sidelined by a broken rib and broken hand, and growing pains should be expected on a unit with eight new starters, but that doesn’t explain the horrendous tackling against Packers running back Eddie Lacy or the blown coverage that turned into wide receiver Jordy Nelson’s 66-yard touchdown. “A lot of it was the (running) back was running over us,” Zimmer said. “A lot of it was we weren’t getting off blocks.”

–WR Greg Jennings, who is in his second season with Minnesota after a superlative seven-year run with Green Bay, caught two passes (six targets) for 31 yards. He was booed after each of the catches but cheered when he dropped a pass that was thrown slightly behind him. “It’s disappointing because just like every other guy in this locker room, I want to beat this team,” he said. “I want to beat every opponent that we play. Is there a little bit more that kind of tries to creep up in there, a little more weight and throwing all the cards in and putting everything into this one? Absolutely. But the end result is still to win the ballgame; that’s just not what we did.”

WR Charles Johnson, who was a seventh-round pick by Green Bay in 2013, caught one pass (three targets) for 7 yards. A third receiver, Adam Thielen, caught his first NFL pass and finished with a team-high four receptions for 57 yards.

–Rookie RB Jerick McKinnon, who rushed for an NFL rookie-high 135 yards last week against Atlanta, managed only 24 yards on seven attempts against the Packers.

–S Harrison Smith intercepted a pass for the second consecutive game, a first in his career. He picked off Packers backup QB Matt Flynn in the fourth quarter. However, Smith was beaten by Green Bay WR Jordy Nelson for a 66-yard touchdown in the first quarter.