Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers calls a play at the line Sunday against the Bears. Credit: Mark Hoffman

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Green Bay — Going 8-0 or 7-1 in your own stadium was the NFL recipe for success until teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers (Super Bowl XL), New York Giants (XLII) and New Orleans Saints (XLIV) proved otherwise by winning championships with better records on the road than at home.

It became even more evident that road play could be just as important when the Steelers (XL), Green Bay Packers (XLV) and Giants (XLVI) won Super Bowls without playing a single postseason home game.

Winning inside your own stadium may not be as important as it once was, but when points scored there are also considered, these days it can be a pretty good marker of postseason potential.

Take the past decade. In every Super Bowl but one, at least one of the participants has ranked in the top four in regular-season home scoring. Many of those teams did not finish undefeated at home.

For the 2014 Packers this is significant because they are 4-0 at Lambeau Field and lead the NFL with an average of 41.5 points per home game.

"These guys are very hot and they're very hot at home," Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis told reporters Wednesday. "Aaron Rodgers is playing as well as you've ever seen him play."

The Eagles come to Lambeau Field a week after the Packers demolished the Chicago Bears, 55-14. In Green Bay's other three home victories, over the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers, it has scored 31, 42 and 38 points.

The Packers' average of 41.5 points per game leads second-place New England by 5.5. If the Packers continue at this rate, they would break the franchise record set in 2011 (35.0).

Since '09, only the Patriots (32.6) and New Orleans Saints (31.7) have averaged more points at home than the Packers (31.5). The Patriots and Packers are the only NFL teams to make the playoffs each of the last five seasons, and the Saints have made it four of the last five.

There are all the standard reasons for being better at home than on the road — no travel, familiar surroundings, crowd support — but for the Packers' offense there are several other factors.

One that might be overlooked is the complexity of coach Mike McCarthy's system and the leeway Rodgers is given. Many of the plays allow Rodgers to change the play at the line of scrimmage based on a pre-snap look he gets from the defense.

In places such as Seattle, Detroit and New Orleans, the skill players have to rely on a system of hand signals to decode Rodgers' changes, and that means taking some time to make sure the signal is seen and processed correctly.

The Packers use hand signals at home, too, but most often the players can hear Rodgers' calls before the snap and get off the line of scrimmage without having to pay close attention to the ball. As a result, McCarthy and Rodgers can use more of the offense at home.

"When you're at home you're able to do some more with some verbal stuff, both with cadences and with formations and routes that you can't quite do in loud environments," Rodgers said. "That definitely helps us."

Every time the Packers have played in a loud environment on the road this season, they've come back and exploded offensively the following game. After scoring 16 at Seattle, they scored 31 on the Jets. After scoring seven at Detroit, they scored 38 on Chicago. After scoring 23 at New Orleans, they scored 55 on the Bears.

Experiencing such a drastic environmental change might account for the offensive breakouts.

"Not everywhere you play on the road is that difficult," rookie center Corey Linsley said. "Seattle and New Orleans are really difficult. But I think those made us grow and communicate even better at home."

It is also possible that the schedule has broken just right for the Packers and they have been fortunate to face the lowly Bears in two of those situations. The Bears currently rank 26th in total defense and 32nd in scoring defense.

The Jets, meanwhile, rank eighth in total defense and 25th in scoring defense, and the Minnesota Vikings rank ninth in total defense and 14th in scoring defense. The Vikings, it should be noted, played with backup quarterback Christian Ponder, who threw two interceptions and was sacked six times.

Looking ahead, the Packers' remaining home games are against the No. 1 (Detroit), No. 12 (Eagles and New England, tied), and No. 24 (Atlanta) scoring defenses. How they perform against the Eagles and Patriots should give them a good idea of how prolific their offense is at home.

Another factor may be the weather.

The forecast Sunday calls for the high temperature to be 29 degrees with winds gusting at around 15 mph.

It should be considerably cooler when the sun goes down sometime in the first half.

Despite suffering a playoff loss to West Coast inhabitant San Francisco in subzero wind-chill temperatures last year, Rodgers brought up weather conditions when discussing the advantages the Packers have at home.

"The fact that we practice in this weather, outside, we play in it, it's going to be cold, it was cold the other night, it's going to be colder Sunday and it's going to continue to trend in that direction," Rodgers said. "So our young guys need to get used to playing in these kind of conditions and the older guys, we know how to play and be effective.

"It's tougher to throw the football and the emphasis is on ball security as the ball gets a little harder and a little slicker. We've done a good job over the years of taking care of it and also being able to still throw it in tough conditions."

Another factor that may play into the success the Packers have offensively at home is the turf on Lambeau Field. The DD GrassMaster hybrid grass system is only in three NFL stadiums, and it is evident from time to time that opposing players have difficulty keeping their footing.

A lot of it has to do with selecting the right cleat, which may vary depending on the conditions.

"Some guys come in with question marks on what to do," said receiver Jordy Nelson. "You can see it with the young guys. I've talked to some people (opposing players) in preseason games, they're like, 'What do you wear out here?'

"It's different each week, it's different later in the season. That's why no matter home or away I go out and test it and see what's right for me."

The Eagles play on that surface, which means this should be a good test of whether the Packers are as prolific as their midseason numbers say they are.

POURING IT ON

The Packers' all-time highest home scoring averages:

1. 2011, 35.0

2. 1962, 29.6

3. 2009, 28.8

Current NFL home scoring averages:

1. Green Bay, 41.5

2. New England, 36.0

3. Pittsburgh, 35.6

4. Philadelphia, 34.0

5. Atlanta, 35.3