For the second straight week, the Packers played down to the level of their opponent but still came away with another victory, something that has become quite ho-hum for what most believe is the NFL's premier team.

However, unlike last week's 24-3 handling of the hapless St. Louis Rams, this week the Packers nearly let the Minnesota Vikings right back into contest before putting it away with a long drive as time wound down.

Sunday also marked the first NFL start of Vikings rookie quarterback Christian Ponder, who took over for Donovan McNabb, who was reportedly benched because of a poor work ethic by coach Leslie Frazier.

Even with the Packers at a flawless 7-0, Sunday's game was far from perfect. As always, there is something to build on, something to learn from, and some things that we just should have never seen in the first place.

With that, I give you the good, the bad, and the ugly, of the Packers 33-27 victory at Minnesota.

The Good

Once again, Aaron Rodgers was spectacular. His 24-30 for 335 yards and three touchdowns set the pace for another Green Bay victory. Rodgers continues to separate himself not only from the enormous shadow cast upon him by his predecessor, but also from every other quarterback in the NFL.

Statistics are funny things. Sometimes they tell you how good a particular player is, but they don't always tell the whole story. For example, Rodgers has three interceptions this season. One of those was a ball that was delivered perfectly but dropped off of Greg Jennings hands right into the arms of Rams safety Craig Dahl in Week 6. It certainly counts in Rodgers statistics, even though it shouldn't.

The same phenomenon was at play Sunday at the Metrodome. In the first half, Rodgers threw three incompletions, officially. One was to stop the clock. Another was flat-out dropped by Randall Cobb on third down, and another should have been handled by James Starks. In the second half, Rodgers threw three more incompletions. Two were to just get rid of the ball, and one was, yes, actually a throw that got away.

"I think I was pretty efficient," Rodgers said in his postgame news conference.

"Efficient" might be an understatement.

"It's like he's unstoppable," according to Vikings cornerback Marcus Sherels.

Overall, Rodgers finished 24-of-30 passing for 335 yards and 3 touchdowns. His quarterback rating for the game was an eye-popping 146.5, bringing his season rating to 125.7.

By comparison, the next highest rated passer is Tom Brady at 104.8. Rodgers leads the NFL in yardage, touchdowns, completion percentage, and completed passes of 40 or more yards.

Let it sink in: Aaron Rodgers, right now, is far and away the best player in the National Football League. He certainly is the best quarterback; but if the MVP balloting were held right now, he might win in a unanimous vote.

"It's awesome blocking for a guy like that, because you know if you give him ample time, he's going to make some special things happen," Packers left guard T.J. Lang said after the game. "We know what he can do. He's just an outstanding player."

If the MVP is give n to the best player on the best team, as is conventional wisdom, then Rodgers is running away with the honor almost halfway through the 2011 campaign.

Also in the "good" category has been the play of Mason Crosby. In fact, Crosby is not only good – he's been flawless dating back to last year. His 58 yard field goal late in the third quarter broke the Packers record of 56 yards (and looked like it would have been good from 70). Crosby also now has made 21 consecutive field goals, eclipsing the record of 17 set by Chris Jacke in 1993.

Charles Woodson intercepted Christian Ponder twice in the third quarter, as the Packers regrouped offensively and defensively. Woodson now has five interceptions this season, giving him 52 for his career. With six more interceptions, Woodson would move into the top ten all-time in the category, all but insuring his place in Canton, if it already isn't there.

The Bad

Unfortunately there was plenty of "bad" in this win as well.

Rodgers got sacked four times; Jared Allen beating left tackle Marshall Newhouse for two of them. Allen leads the NFL with 11 ½ sacks, outdistancing Dallas' Demarcus Ware, who has 8. At times, Newhouse has looked like he can hold his own as a starting tackle in the NFL. At other times, however, he has simply looked lost out there.

The Packers allowed Adrian Peterson to run wild over them for most of the game. Peterson may be the best running back in football, but getting gashed for 175 yards on 24 carries is something that should cause defensive coordinator Dom Capers to stay up late at night. Peterson did the bulk of his damage late in the third quarter, with runs of 25 and 54 yards.

Coming off the heels of Steve Jackson's 96 yard performance of one week ago, you have to wonder what happened to the Packers rush defense that stopped Chicago's talented Matt Forte (2 yards on 9 carries) back in Week 3.

Rookie wide receiver/kick returner Randall Cobb struggled in two key plays that had the potential to be backbreakers. At the end of the first quarter, he tried to negotiate a fair catch in traffic on a punt he clearly did not judge properly, and fumbled it right back to Minnesota. That allowed the Vikings to continue a touchdown drive that gave them a 14-7 lead.

On the Packers very next possession, on 3rd and 16, Cobb was wide open when Rodgers drilled him right in the hands for an easy first down. When Cobb flat-out dropped the ball, it was Rodgers first incompletion of the game, and gave the ball and momentum right back to Minnesota. On the ensuing Vikings drive, Ryan Longwell's 52-yard field goal gave Minnesota a 17-10 lead.

There is no question that Randall Cobb has the ability to play in the NFL. However, simple mistakes like the two first-half gaffes he made will put him in any head coach's doghouse. Cobb did try to atone for his earlier mistakes, however, with a 42-yard punt return in the Packers breakout third quarter, setting up Rodgers' final touchdown pass of the day.

The Packers seemed to go to sleep in the fourth quarter, with two short drives both stalling before Green Bay was able to run the clock out and head into the bye week with the league's only perfect record.

Most damning was that they allowed a one-win team right back into the game in the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, a win is a win, but the coaches and players still have some things they can look at from this game and improve upon.

"To a man, we know we can play better, and that's what's exciting," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said in his postgame news conference. "So we'll come in tomorrow, we'll make all our corrections from Minnesota, we've got a couple other things we need to get cleaned up, and we'll head into the bye week."

The Ugly

Here is where I could go on and on about how awful the Metrodome is, but if you have ever been there, you know what I am talking about. I mean sure, the roof keeps out the elements, but you always get a feeling that you just were never supposed to watch a football game in someone's living room.

If you've never been to the Metrodome, you've never experienced the horribly cramped concourses or the feeling of getting sucked out of a building when you leave because of the air pressure that supports the roof. However, the building does have its fair hare of history.

The Metrodome is the only venue that has hosted a Super Bowl, Final Four, World Series, and MLB All-Star Game. Marquette advanced to the 2003 Final Four at the Midwest Regional played that season at the Metrodome. It is only one of two venues to have ever been the home to an NFL, NBA, and MLB team in the same season (the Kingdome is the other).

The Metrodome was the site for Eddie Murray, Dave Winfield, and Cal Ripken, Jr. all recording their 3,000th hit. The Metrodome was also the site of three of the longest plays in NFL history: Tony Dorsett's 99-yard touchdown run (the NFL's longest running play from scrimmage), Gus Freotte's 99-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian in 2008 (which ties an NFL record for longest passing play) and Antonio Cromartie returning a short field goal 9 yards deep in the end zone for a 109-yard touchdown (the longest play in NFL history).

While still a Packer, Brett Favre broke Dan Marino's all-time passing touchdown record at the Metrodome.

But it's still a dump. And it's still ugly.

The other "ugly" was the kick to the groin that Vikings defensive end Brian Robson delivered to Packers left guard T.J. Lang. The kick cost the Vikings 15 yards and probably should have cost Robson an ejection.

"I don't think there is any room in the game for that kind of move," Lang said in the locker room after the game. "From what it sounds like, the TV cameras caught it pretty well."

Since I'm on a roll, correctly guessing A. J. Hawk's $10,000 fine for flipping the Packers bench the finger last week, I'll say that Robson, who did apologize via Twitter after the game to Lang, will be docked $15,000.

The Packers will travel to San Diego Nov. 6 after taking their bye this week.