Tom Pelissero

USA TODAY Sports

GREEN BAY, Wis. – One year ago, the place no NFC team wanted to go in January was Seattle's CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks won twice on the way to Super Bowl XLVIII.

This time, that place might be Lambeau Field – if the Green Bay Packers can do enough the next six weeks to bring the postseason here at all.

They're tied atop the NFC North Division at 7-3 after Aaron Rodgers sent himself to the bench early again Sunday with three touchdown passes in a 53-20 trouncing of the Philadelphia Eagles, around the same time the crowd cheered news of the Detroit Lions' loss at Arizona.

The Packers aren't just winning on their home field. They're crushing all comers in historic fashion – even the likes of the Eagles, whose destruction Sunday extended far beyond a couple lowlight-reel miscues by backup quarterback Mark Sanchez as things got out of hand.

"This is the kind of stretch you want to be on at this point in the season, when things are starting to sort themselves out," Rodgers said. "We've got a long way to go, but we're putting ourselves in position to be in the mix.

"Obviously, around here, it's about winning division titles, getting a home playoff game and taking care of the advantage that we have here at home, with the weather, with the way the weather affects the football and the footing. We seem to do a good job in these conditions, so we need to have a home playoff game, and it starts with winning your division."

In their past four home games, the Packers have outscored opponents 66-0 in the first quarter, 128-9 in the first half and 167-23 over the first three quarters before Rodgers gives way to backup Matt Flynn and they call off the no-huddle assault.

One week after a 55-14 rout of the bumbling Chicago Bears, the Packers hit the 50-point mark again – the first time in the franchise's long history they've done so in consecutive games – against an Eagles team that entered atop the NFC East with Super Bowl hopes of its own.

"When you come into a game of this magnitude, the first thing you think is that it's going to be a tighter game. That's what you prepare for," cornerback Tramon Williams told USA TODAY Sports. "Obviously, if we're playing like this at home, this is where you want to be at."

It was a relatively mild 28 degrees with a wind chill of 17 at kickoff Sunday and the playing surface looked to be in good shape after overnight snow. But like the Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers and Bears before them, the Eagles never seemed comfortable as the onslaught began.

Packers nose tackle Letroy Guion tattooed Sanchez on the opening series, Green Bay's first four offensive possessions ended in points – as did a 75-yard Micah Hyde punt return – and it was 30-6 at halftime. Sanchez's grotesque pick-six to Julius Peppers and a botched shotgun snap that Casey Hayward returned 49 yards for another touchdown only accentuated the damage.

Meanwhile, Rodgers was as sharp as he has been for most of the past two months, completing 22 of 36 passes for 341 yards in a game team leaders acknowledged all week meant a lot not only in the standings, but showing the Packers can keep rolling against the best.

"We've beaten some teams with losing records and blown them out," Rodgers said. "This was the kind of win we needed just to remind ourselves and our fans and the league that we are a good football team and it's tough to play here."

Home-field advantage isn't the end-all. Two of the past three years, the Packers have lost their playoff opener at Lambeau. Their only playoff win here in the Rodgers era was against a Minnesota Vikings team that started overmatched backup Joe Webb at quarterback. Their path to Super Bowl XLV after the 2010 season was entirely on the road as a wild-card qualifier.

Winning the North would beat taking that path again, though, particularly with the way the Packers' up-tempo offense hums without the problem of crowd noise. The last three home games on their regular-season schedule are against teams that currently have a share of their respective division leads – including the Lions in the Dec. 28 finale.

At 9-1, the Cardinals still have a two-game edge over four teams, including the Packers and Eagles, for the No. 1 seed. The Cardinals haven't lost at home either, but their total margin of victory in those six games is 49 points. The Packers' margin in five home wins is 134.

Another test awaits after next week's visit to Minnesota. The mighty New England Patriots come here Nov. 30.

"We're going to try to separate ourselves," Peppers said. "This is what we need. We need games like this and we need to continue to stay focused on the goal ahead."

Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero.