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DETROIT, Michigan: Aaron Rodgers tossed three touchdown passes as the Green Bay Packers hammered Detroit 34-12, sending the Lions to their sixth consecutive US Thanksgiving Day defeat.
Rodgers helped rally the Packers who trailed early at Ford Field in one of three Thanksgiving Day National Football League games.
Rodgers finished with 348 yards on 28-of-39 passing for the Packers (7-4) who remained in the playoff wild card race.
"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."
Donald Driver had 142 yards and one touchdown on seven receptions for Green Bay, who have won three consecutive games.
Packer cornerback Charles Woodson picked off Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford two times, including once for a touchdown.
Stafford completed 20-of-43 passes for 213 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. He was playing a with a bad shoulder after separating it in a game against Cleveland a week ago.
"He got here early this morning and was able to throw the ball," said Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz on the decision to go with Stafford.
"The shoulder is not an issue of hurting it worse, it's just a pain management issue. He's our starting quarterback and if he's healthy, he's going to be out there."
Kevin Smith rushed for 43 yards on 18 carries and had four receptions for 46 yards for the Lions (2-9).
"Disappointing loss. We lost a lot of individual matchups in this game," Schwartz added.
The Packers were missing cornerback Al Harris and linebacker Aaron Kampman, who both suffered season-ending knee injuries in last week's victory.
Green Bay scored 27 unanswered points in the second and third quarters to take charge of the game.
The Packers have won nine straight against Detroit and their coach Mike McCarthy is 8-0 against Green Bay.
Tony Romo completed 18 of 29 passes for 309 yards and threw for a pair of touchdowns to power the Dallas Cowboys to an easy 24-7 win over Oakland.
Jason Witten caught five passes for 107 yards for the Cowboys (8-3) who won for the sixth time in their last seven games.
This was the first time Dallas has beat Oakland at home as the Dallas offence finally got back on track.
"I think we have a lot to prove - just for this season, though," Romo said. "I don't think any other season has any bearing whatsoever. For us, it's strictly about right now and this next game. We'll go from there."
Oakland's star punter Shane Lechler failed in nine attempts during the warmup and in the game to hit the video board at the new Cowboys stadium.
Bruce Gradkowski was 18-of-35 for 200 yards and a touchdown in his second consecutive start for Oakland (3-8).
In the late Thursday game, the Denver Broncos hammered the New York Giants 26-6.
In other upcoming week 12 games, Tampa Bay plays Atlanta, Miami faces Buffalo, Cleveland takes on Cincinnati, Seattle meets St. Louis, Carolina plays the NY Jets, Washington squares off against Philadelphia, Houston hosts Indianapolis, Kansas City meets San Diego, Jacksonville plays San Francisco at Candlestick Park, Chicago takes on Minnesota, Arizona is at Tennessee, Pittsburgh plays Baltimore, New England faces New Orleans at the Superdome
- AFP/yb
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