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Lions offense comes alive; Detroit tops Chicago on Thanksgiving

Posted at 3:56 PM, Nov 27, 2014
and last updated 2014-11-27 15:56:31-05

DETROIT — On a day when most people’s caloric intake explodes, the Detroit Lions offense finally exploded.

Matthew Stafford found Calvin Johnson in the end zone twice and the Detroit Lions scored a 24 points in the first half en route to a 34-17 win over the Chicago Bears. The 34 points are the most the Lions have scored in a single game since scoring 35 in a Week 1 win over the New York Giants. The 24 points in the first half are the most the Lions have scored in a half this season.

Matthew Stafford completed 34 of 45 passes for 390 yards and a quarterback rating of 116.0. He was 22 of 26 in the first half for 275 yards and the two touchdown passes to Johnson. The 275 yards were the second-most Stafford has thrown in an opening half in his career.

Johnson had nine catches in the first half for 109 yards and the two scores. He eclipsed the 10,000 career receiving yards in the first half, becoming the fastest player in NFL History to do so (115 games). Megatron finished with 11 catches for 146 yards.

Joique Bell scored two one-yard rushing touchdowns and Matt Prater kicked two field goals (46, 40) to complete the Lions scoring on the day. Bell finished the day with 91 rushing yards on 23 carries.

With the win, the Lions improve to 8-4 on the season and 3-0 against NFC North opponents. The Bears fall to 5-7.

Detroit is 5-1 at Ford Field this season and host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Dec. 7) and the Minnesota Vikings (Dec. 14) over the next two weeks.