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Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron
Rodgers (12) throws during the third quarter of an
NFL football game against the Detroit Lions.
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DETROIT - The Detroit Lions used to take a lot of pride in
playing on Thanksgiving.
Lately, the Lions have been getting embarrassed when the
nation tunes in to watch them.
Aaron Rodgers matched a career high with three touchdown
passes and Charles Woodson grabbed two of his team's four
interceptions, giving the Green Bay Packers a 34-12 win over
Detroit.
The Lions have lost six straight games on the holiday,
setting a franchise record, by an average of 23.2 points and
eight of nine in the showcase game. The latest loss was an
emotional setback for Detroit (2-9) four days after Matthew
Stafford's gutsy play capped its biggest comeback win since
1957.
"It's a different feeling in this locker room — especially on
national television to come out like that," Detroit center
Dominic Raiola said.
Before its recent slide, Detroit won four straight and nine
of 12 on Thanksgiving before ex-general manager Matt Millen
arrived in 2001 and made a lackluster franchise awful.
Green Bay (7-4) has won three straight since losing to Tampa
Bay to improve its postseason prospects.
"We can't talk about the playoffs yet," Packers receiver
Donald Driver said.
Stafford, playing with a sore non-throwing shoulder, threw
one touchdown pass and four interceptions. He threw five TD
passes in Sunday's win over Cleveland after trailing by 21.
"When you've got to throw the ball every down to try to get
back into it when you're behind, guys are going to be all over
it," Stafford said.
Kevin Smith's longest run was 6 yards and he finished with 43
on 18 carries for the Lions.
"This is the type of game that you hit your head on a wall
about," Smith said.
The Lions looked as if they were building off their rare
momentum by recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff and with
Stafford's TD pass to Calvin Johnson.
But the Packers scored 27 unanswered points in the second and
third quarters to turn the game into a familiar rout.
"We had to dig deep," Rodgers said. "There's a lot of resolve
in this team and I'm confident in our team moving forward."
The Packers have won nine straight against the Lions overall,
and coach Mike McCarthy is 8-0 against them.
Woodson returned his second interception for a score late in
the game and struck a Heisman Trophy pose in the end zone.
Woodson won the award in 1997 while leading Michigan to a
national championship.
"Being here in Michigan with all the fans I know I still have
here," Woodson said. "I just wanted to remind those guys what it
was like back when I was in school."
Woodson also forced and recovered a fumble and had a sack,
capping an afternoon that included an announcement of his $2
million gift to the new University of Michigan Mott Children's
Hospital.
"It was a good day," Woodson said with a grin.
It was for Rodgers, too, as usual against the Lions.
Rodgers was 28 of 39 for 348 yards and connected with Driver,
Donald Lee and James Jones for scores. He has played Detroit
four times and those passing totals rank among the top eight in
his career.
Driver had seven receptions for 142 yards, including a
68-yard catch, and a TD that gave the Packers a 20-7 lead midway
through the third quarter.
Rodgers and Driver both credited their much-maligned
offensive line.
"There were a couple times when I held the ball for 4 or 5
seconds — maybe more," Rodgers said. "When you have that kind of
time with the kind of players that we have, we feel like we're
going to make plays."
Green Bay played without cornerback Al Harris and linebacker
Aaron Kampman, both of whom had season-ending knee injuries in
last week's win.
"Our defense was huge," McCarthy said. "That was the No. 1
factor in our success."
Stafford was only 20 of 43 yards for 213 yards, and his four
interceptions were one fewer than he had earlier this season. He
was listed as doubtful for the game because of his shoulder
injury, but his decision-making seemed to be more of a problem
than his health.
"I don't think (the injured shoulder) was a factor at all,"
Stafford said.
Johnson, who was questionable with hand and knee injuries,
only had a 9-yard catch to go with his 1-yard score.
In Detroit's last game, Stafford broke an NFL rookie record
with 422 yards passing, became the youngest player to throw five
TD passes in a game and drew praise for playing with a
dislocated, non-throwing shoulder on the final untimed play.
"I told him after the game, 'Around the league, we respect a
guy who will come in hurt,'" Woodson said.
NOTES: Detroit rookie TE Brandon Pettigrew, a
first-round pick, hurt his left knee on the first drive and did
not return. .. Green Bay OT Chad Clifton (hamstring) and Jordy
Nelson (shoulder) were injured during the game. ... Stafford
joined Dan Marino, Dave Krieg and Vince Ferragamo as the four
QBs who have thrown four INTs a game after throwing at least
five TDs since 1970, according to STATS, LLC. ... The Lions are
33-35-2 on Thanksgiving.
Lions endure another blowout on Thanksgiving
DETROIT - The Lions' 70th Thanksgiving Day game wasn't
supposed to be just another game this year. Coach Jim
Schwartz had made a point to say it was something special
and worth protecting. Maybe a statement game the rest of the
country could watch so that it would keep its mitts off
Detroit's tradition.
But Thanksgiving Day looked a lot
more like Groundhog Day in yet another big loss at Ford
Field. The Lions fell, 34-12, to Green Bay and dropped their
sixth straight on the holiday — which set a record for the
longest losing streak in the game. They have been outscored
in six losses, 213-74.
Matthew Stafford had trouble reprising his heroic role
from Sunday's comeback win over Cleveland. The rookie
quarterback played through a left shoulder injury but threw
four interceptions — two to former Michigan star Charles
Woodson, who returned one 38 yards for a touchdown . In all,
the Packers converted three of the picks into 17 points and
Stafford's 30.5 passer rating was his lowest since the
season opener.
"Yeah, I mean, obviously it's tough," Stafford said. "I
don't want to play like this, don't want to turn the ball
over as much as I did — that sort of thing. The only thing
you can do is keep coming back to work, get ready for the
next one."
Still, the Lions started off with a bang.
First, their two biggest stars, Stafford and receiver
Calvin Johnson, shrugged off injuries and started. Jordon
Dizon recovered the opening kickoff for the Lions after Turk
McBride forced a fumble by Jordy Nelson. That set up a
1-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Johnson for a 7-0
lead less than 2 minutes into the game.
The Lions (2-9) appeared to be extending Sunday's magical
ending. But Johnson would catch only one more pass the rest
of the game for a total of 10 yards and the Lions wouldn't
score again until the fourth quarter.
"It's a different feeling in this locker room, especially
with a nationally televised game to come out like that,"
center Dominic Raiola said. "We came out strong, we just
never took advantage of anything and they did."
Receiver Donald Driver paced the Packers (7-4) with seven
catches for 142 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Aaron
Rodgers had a field day picking apart the Lions' secondary.
He was 28-for-39 for 348 yards with three touchdowns.
Rodgers was politic when asked if the Lions' defense was
predictable.
"I wouldn't say predictable," he said. "I'd say that'd be
a slight at Coach Schwartz and their defensive players. I
think they stayed aggressive on defense."
But it rarely showed. The Lions brought little pressure
and Rodgers had plenty of time to find targets as the
Packers completed 56 percent of their third downs.
On offense, the Lions struggled to move the ball in any
fashion with only 272 yards on offense. On the ground, they
gained only 73 yards — with 43 yards on 18 carries by Kevin
Smith — while playing mostly against a run-susceptible
defense.
Schwartz had spoken earnestly about protecting the team's
Thanksgiving tradition, about putting "barbed wire" around
it and silencing future talk about the Lions losing the game
for lack of competitiveness.
Now? The talk just may be starting again.
"Sure, why not?" said kicker Jason Hanson, who defended
the team's tradition after playing in his 18th Thanksgiving
game. "Why would it go down? I don't really care. What is
there to say? It's out of our control. It's a huge business.
Of course people are going to say that."
Schwartz says he doesn't regret
starting Stafford
ALLEN PARK, Mich. - Lions coach Jim
Schwartz says he doesn't regret starting Matthew
Stafford.Schwartz said Friday there's "no second
guessing at all" a day after the rookie quarterback
threw four interceptions in a 34-12 loss to Green Bay,
Detroit's sixth straight Thanksgiving defeat.
Stafford threw five touchdowns in a dramatic Nov. 22
win over Cleveland that saw him return to the field to
throw the game-winning touchdown after separating his
non-throwing shoulder.
Schwartz says his quarterback showed improvement the
day before the Green Bay game.
Packers enter long break on a roll
GREEN BAY, Wis. - Two weeks ago, the Green Bay
Packers' season was at a crossroads.
They had just
suffered a humiliating loss to the previously
winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, dropping to a 4-4
record.
After beating the Detroit Lions 34-12 in a
Thanksgiving road game Thursday, the Packers (7-4)
have three consecutive wins in 12 days.
Idle until a Monday night game against the
Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 7, coach Mike McCarthy is
giving the players the next three days off.
They'll reconvene Monday brimming with confidence
after another dominating performance by the defense,
led by playmaking cornerback Charles Woodson, and
some big throws by quarterback Aaron Rodgers.