Published : Nov. 29, 2013 - 19:11
Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh sacks Green Bay Packers quarterback Matt Flynn for a safety in the third quarter on Thursday. (AP-Yonhap News)
DETROIT (AP) ― Matthew Stafford and Reggie Bush did their part to keep the Aaron Rodgers-less Green Bay Packers in the game.
Stafford turned the ball over a few times and Bush did once.
Instead of crumbling and losing confidence, both players bounced back and helped the Detroit Lions put together a dominant performance after an awful start.
Stafford threw three touchdown passes, including one to Calvin Johnson, Bush had 182 yards of offense and scored, and Detroit scored 37 straight points to rout Green Bay 40-10 on Thursday.
“When we get out of our own way, we can be pretty special,” Bush said.
Early on, it looked as if the Lions were going to find another way to waste chances to win a game and take control of the NFC North.
“It’s easy when you lose a couple games in a row, particularly the fashion that we lost, for people to say, ‘Here we go again,’” Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said. “I’m sure there were some people that were saying that, but they weren’t on our sideline.”
The Lions (7-5) had lost their last two games, five consecutive against Green Bay and a franchise-record nine straight in their annual showcase on Thanksgiving.
“It’s a step in the right direction for us,” Stafford said. “I’m sure the turkey will taste better.”
The Packers (5-6-1) have a five-game winless streak for the first time since 2008.
“We’re not used to anything like this ― not on this team,” Green Bay linebacker A.J. Hawk said. “This is something that is going to make a lot of guys on this team think, and that’s good. We need to find some answers because they just ran the ball down our throats.”
Bush responded from fumbling deep in Green Bay territory to score a 1-yard TD run that gave Detroit a 17-10 lead late in the first half. He finished with 117 yards rushing and 65 yards receiving. Bush’s backup, Joique Bell, ran for a career-high 94 yards and a score.
Cowboys rally past Raiders 31-24
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ― DeMarco Murray did the finishing work for the Dallas Cowboys. Backup Lance Dunbar made his job a lot easier.
Murray ran for three touchdowns, Dunbar had a career-high 82 yards rushing and the Cowboys overcame Oakland’s fumble return for a score on the opening kickoff to beat the Raiders 31-24 Thursday.
Murray had 63 yards rushing but did most of his damage near the goal line, including a 7-yard score to put Dallas ahead for good early in the fourth quarter.
Dunbar, who went out with a left knee sprain, sparked the tying and go-ahead touchdown drives in the second half, highlighted by a 45-yard run that led to a 4-yard scoring pass from Tony Romo to Dez Bryant.
The Cowboys (7-5) moved two games above .500 for the first time since late last season. The Raiders (4-8) are guaranteed an 11th straight season without a winning record since going to the Super Bowl during the 2002 season.
Matt McGloin had a strong first half for the Raiders, leading consecutive TD drives that put Oakland up 21-7. But he didn’t get much help from the league’s fifth-best rushing attack, and his offense stalled in the second half.
Murray had just 25 yards after his third TD, but ran for another 38 to help Dallas burn the clock with a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. Most of the late damage came on a drive to Dan Bailey’s 19-yard field goal to put Dallas up by 10 with 1:56 left.
Murray, who tied the score at 7-all on a 2-yard run the first play after a fumble by McGloin late in the first quarter, also had 39 yards receiving.
Rashad Jennings rushed for 35 yards on 17 carries ― a 2.1-yard average ― and had both of Oakland’s offensive touchdowns. Darren McFadden carried just five times for 13 yards in his return after missing three games with a hamstring injury.
Ravens hold on for 22-20 win
BALTIMORE (AP) ― Another close game in the spirited rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens came down to a wacky final two minutes that featured a pair of overturned touchdowns, a couple injuries and finally, a missed 2-point conversion.
Justin Tucker kicked five field goals, and Baltimore snuffed a conversion pass with 1:03 left to escape with a 22-20 victory Thursday night.
After Pittsburgh scored on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Jerricho Cotchery to get within two points, Roethlisberger’s conversion pass slipped through the hands of Emmanuel Sanders, who was screened by Chykie Brown.
The victory provided the Ravens (6-6) with their first winning streak since September and pushed them ahead of the Steelers (5-7) and four other teams in the race for the final wild-card slot in the AFC. It also avenged a 19-16 loss to their division rivals last month.
It was the fifth straight game between the teams decided by three points or fewer.
Pittsburgh appeared to score twice in the closing minutes, but on each occasion the touchdown was overturned by a replay. On the first one, tight end Heath Miller was ruled down inside the 1. On the second, running back Le’Veon Bell lost his helmet on a crushing tackle by Jimmy Smith and the ball was ruled dead just short of the goal line.