Lions Recover From Sloppy Start to Beat Packers

DETROIT - On the Detroit Lions' first possession Thursday, a week after he had promised he would not fumble again this season, Reggie Bush coughed up the ball deep in Green Bay Packers territory.

Unfortunately for the Packers, it was perhaps the only mistake Bush made in the entire game. He finished with 117 rushing yards and 65 receiving yards in leading the Lions to a 40-10 victory, their first win on Thanksgiving since 2003.

The victory improved the record of the Lions, who appeared to be in control of the N.F.C. North after winning at Chicago on Nov. 10, to 7-5 and puts them back in control in the division.

After that win over the Bears, the Lions seemed to have momentum, with a 6-3 record and both Green Bay and Chicago missing their starting quarterbacks because of injuries. But consecutive losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, teams that have a 6-14 record otherwise, allowed the Bears and the Packers to stick around in the hunt for the division title.

'I think we are going to play with that same urgency that we played with today,' Lions center Dominic Raiola said Thursday. 'We are not going to take that foot off the gas. There is no relaxing.'

With the loss, the Packers dropped to 5-6-1, continuing their free-fall without their franchise player and star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.

The Packers began the season 5-2, but since Rodgers fractured his left collarbone on Nov. 4 against Chicago, they have gone 0-4-1 and started three different quarterbacks.

Early in Thursday's game, it seemed as if the Packers' game plan was to be conservative and capitalize on the Lions' mistakes. For a time, at least, it worked: When the Lions were not making big plays for themselves, they were busy making big plays for the Packers.

On the first drive of the game, after the Lions had gone nearly 70 yards, Bush fumbled inside the Packers' 10-yard line.

Two possessions later, the Lions' Matthew Stafford was sacked by Nick Perry inside his own 20 and fumbled. Morgan Burnett picked up the ball at the 1-yard line and walked into the end zone to give the Packers a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter.

The Lions committed four turnovers in the game, including three on their first four possessions.

The Packers' offense, though, was downright awful.

Green Bay struggled to do much of anything in the first half, despite the Lions' turnovers. The Packers mustered only 43 first-half yards and finished the game with a total of 126 offensive yards.

Quarterback Matt Flynn was making his first start for the Packers since the last game of the 2011 season, when he threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns, a performance that helped him earn a three-year, $26 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks. Since then, however, he has hardly played. Last year, he lost his starting spot to the rookie Russell Wilson in the preseason and appeared in just three games last year for the Seahawks. He had stints with the Raiders and the Bills this season before the Packers signed him on Nov. 12.

On Thursday, against the Lions, the team he dominated in that 2011 game, Flynn could not recapture the magic.

Detroit kept up the pressure all game, recording seven sacks, and Flynn had difficulty finding any sort of rhythm in the pocket. He completed 3 of 8 passes for 45 yards in the first half, and the second half was not much better. Flynn finished the game 10-of-20 passing for 139 yards, with one interception.

'I thought whether we were blitzing or four-man pass rushing, we were putting pretty good pressure on the quarterback,' Lions Coach Jim Schwartz said.

After several disappointing drives, the Lions found a spark when Stafford found the former Packer Jeremy Ross midway through the second quarter for the first touchdown of Ross's career, a five-yard grab. On the next possession, Ross returned a punt 35 yards to give the Lions excellent field position, which led to a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Bush.

Ross was cut by the Packers on Sept. 23 after he had had problems on several kickoff returns, including a crucial fumble in a 34-30 loss against the Bengals in Week 3.

After halftime Thursday, the Lions made adjustments, cut down on their turnovers and took complete control. They scored 23 points in the second half, finishing the game by scoring 37 straight points.

Stafford completed 22 of 35 passes for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Calvin Johnson had six receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown.

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