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Det. 45, Phi. 14: Fords applaud coaches for holiday win

Matthew Stafford throws five TDs, Calvin Johnson catches three and Detroit continues to win

Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford all smiles after after his touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson near the end the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday, November 26, 2015, in Detroit.

Martha Ford and most of her children and grandchildren were waiting in a hallway outside the Detroit Lions locker room when Jim Caldwell pulled a privacy curtain aside and started walking their way.

Caldwell had just led the Lions to their third straight victory, a 45-14 annihilation of the Philadelphia Eagles at Ford Field, and as the group that included the Lions owner greeted him with a few seconds of applause, it was clear the second-year coach's hot seat had cooled considerably on this Thanksgiving day.

"I think the family's always excited about victories and this one is no different than the others that we've had," Caldwell said. "I think that they're appreciative, they're looking for a winner here, want to build a winner. And want to do everything possible to make certain that that indeed happens. So it was just a show of appreciation, which Mrs. Ford generally shows her appreciation after games."

Left for dead after a 1-7 start, the Lions (4-7) are suddenly alive and kicking on the outskirts of a playoff race.

They finish a three-game homestand next week in primetime against the Green Bay Packers, play just one team with a winning record (Green Bay, which they already beat) the rest of the way, and are riding a wave of momentum after dominating the Eagles in their most complete performance of the season Thursday.

Matthew Stafford tied a career-high with five touchdowns passes. Calvin Johnson matched his season total with three scores. And Ziggy Ansah had 3.5 sacks in an outing he called "personal" going against the offensive tackle that was taken one pick ahead of him in the 2013 draft.

"Third year in a row (we've won on Thanksgiving), let's keep this streak going," running back Joique Bell said. "Offense played great, defense played awesome. We were able to run the ball, throw the ball. Matt had a heck of a game today. … That was a team victory today."

Stafford completed 27 of 38 passes for 337 yards and finished with a career-high 137.8 passer rating.

Thanksgiving grades: Lions nearly perfect vs. Eagles

He led six straight scoring drives after the Lions went three-and-out on their first possession, and shredded the Eagles' short-handed secondary with plenty of help from Johnson along the way.

"We started the game, I think we got through the first quarter without him even having a catch, and I was sitting there going, 'Man, we got to get 81 the ball,'" Stafford said. "Jim Bob (Cooter) dialed up some plays for him and he got open, made some big-time catches."

Stafford threw touchdowns of 8 yards to Riddick, 2 yards to Tate and 25 yards to Johnson in the first half, and Matt Prater added a 48-yard field goal as the Lions took a 24-7 lead into halftime.

The Lions tacked on two more touchdowns on their first two possessions of the second half, with Stafford and Johnson connecting on both scores.

Johnson beat rookie cornerback Eric Rowe, who played most of the game after starter Nolan Carroll left with a broken ankle, for his first two touchdowns of the game, then caught a fade route on Byron Maxwell to put the Lions up, 38-7, late in the third quarter.

"Calvin, obviously, was a very difficult matchup for us," embattled Eagles coach Chip Kelly said. "And we didn't do a very good job of putting those guys in position to make plays that they have to make in a game like this."

Johnson has now scored touchdowns in seven straight Thanksgiving games and has 11 turkey-day touchdowns in his career. He caught a game-high eight passes for 93 yards Sunday, Riddick added five catches for 62 yards, and Bell scored the Lions' final touchdown on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

Stafford, who had two probable touchdowns dropped in the first three quarters, nearly threw his franchise-record sixth touchdown pass one play before Bell's dive into the end zone, but Bell was hauled down at the 1-yard line after a long gain on a screen pass.

"I know you guys are always looking for something magical or something different (to explain why things happen)," Caldwell said. "Football's a bit simpler than that. When guys do what they're supposed to do, they function the way they're supposed to function, their technique is sound, then you see good things happen. I think that's what you're seeing now. And this is a team that's come through, had some pretty good battles early on. I think we were battle tested. This is a pretty good battle-tested team. Looked good this week and let's see what we do next week, that's the big key."

The Lions, who've now won their last three Thanksgiving games by a combined 78 points, held the Eagles to 68 yards rushing on 25 carries Thursday, the third straight opponent they've kept under 70 yards on the ground.

They also sacked Mark Sanchez, who completed 19 of 27 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns in his second straight start in place of the injured Sam Bradford, six times.

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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