Sunderland moved up to fourth in the Championship as they dismantled winless Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
Dan Ballard met Alex Pritchard's inswinging corner to power home an early close-range header unchallenged.
And it was 2-0 after just eight minutes when the Championship's top scorer Jack Clarke was allowed to cut across the face of the 18-yard box and lash home his sixth of the season inside the right-hand post.
Clarke heaped more pressure on Owls boss Xisco Munoz when he tucked a 30th-minute penalty into the bottom corner - his sixth goal in five games - after Bambo Diaby had pulled down Mason Burstow.