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Hedrick student council works to clean up the language ... Ashland woman wins Megabucks jackpot ... Measure 92 recount shows little change in Jackson County ... Hedrick student council works to clean up the language ... Ashland woman wins Megabucks jackpot ... NFL Johnson shines in Detroit's 34-17 win over Chicago By The Associated Press MailTribune.com By The Associated Press Posted Nov. 27, 2014 @ 5:12 pm By The Associated Press Posted Nov. 27, 2014 @ 5:12 pm » Social News DETROIT — After a week of questions about his limited production of late, Calvin Johnson lifted Detroit’s offense with an emphatic reminder that he’s still one of the game’s most dynamic players. Johnson caught 11 passes for 146 yards with a pair of first-half touchdowns, and the Lions boosted their postseason hopes with a 34-17 victory over the Chicago Bears on Thursday. Johnson had been held under 60 yards in two of three games since returning from an ankle injury, and there were rumblings that the 29-year-old receiver was slowing down, but he quieted a lot of those concerns with perhaps his best game of the season. “Guys still believe in what we got going here,” Johnson said. “We had a good week of practice — it was a very short week, but we were very detailed in what we did on the field, coaches taking care of us. It’s our part to come out here and do our job on the field.” After losing at Arizona and New England and falling out of first place in the NFC North, the Lions (8-4) spotted Chicago a 14-3 first-quarter lead before rallying with relative ease in the second. Detroit finished with a season-high 474 yards in its highest-scoring game since a 35-14 victory over the New York Giants in its opener. Joique Bell ran for two touchdowns for the Lions, and Jay Cutler threw two TD passes for Chicago (5-7). Detroit’s Matthew Stafford went 34 of 45 for 390 yards with the two touchdown passes to Johnson. The Lions have now won back-to-back games on Thanksgiving after losing their previous nine. They beat Green Bay 40-10 last year. That victory over the Packers was Detroit’s only win in its final seven games last season as the Lions frittered away a playoff spot. They are again in mix for the postseason this year, and Thursday’s game was their first of three in a row at home — all against teams with losing records. “Every single week there’s a new challenge. We have a new one next week,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. “The minute you get comfortable at any stage in our league you’re going to have problems.” Detroit came in with the league’s top-ranked run defense, and Chicago barely even tried to test it. Matt Forte was a non-factor on the ground, finishing with 6 yards on five carries. Cutler went 31 of 48 for 280 yards with two fourth-quarter interceptions. Chicago’s imbalanced game plan came only a few days after New England relied heavily on the pass in its victory over the Lions last weekend. “I think they look at the numbers and make an assessment of what they think they can do,” Caldwell said. “Not everybody looks at it the same way, but the last couple weeks it’s been that way.” The Bears opened the scoring on Cutler’s 10-yard scoring pass to Alshon Jeffery, and they scored again after Jared Allen sacked Stafford, forced a fumble and recovered it at the Detroit 5. Cutler’s 6-yard scoring pass to Jeffery made it 14-3 with 3:35 remaining in the first quarter. Stafford, however, was brilliant in the second. Johnson made a leaping catch for a 25-yard touchdown, holding on despite a hit from defensive back Kyle Fuller. That was the first time Detroit had reached the end zone since Nov. 9 against Miami — and a sign that the Lions were shaking off some of the problems with their passing game. “I don’t know that they really did anything that we didn’t expect, although they didn’t have the drops that we’ve seen on film, or make the other mistakes that shut down offenses,” Bears coach Marc Trestman said. “We were the ones that had those, especially penalties that took us out of good positions.” Bell put the Lions ahead with a 1-yard scoring run on fourth down — leaping toward the goal line and extending the ball just far enough for a touchdown. Stafford’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Johnson made it 24-14 with 24 seconds left in the half. Stafford went 22 of 26 for 275 yards in the first half, and Johnson set a record as the fastest to 10,000 yards receiving, surpassing that milestone in the second quarter of his 115th game. Bell’s 1-yard run in the fourth was the only touchdown of the second half. Eagles 33, Cowboys 10 At Arlington, Texas, LeSean McCoy is looking more like the NFL rushing champion of a year ago, and Mark Sanchez is getting more comfortable in Philadelphia’s offense. McCoy ran for 159 yards and a touchdown, Sanchez had his first scoring run in almost three years and the Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys in a Thanksgiving battle of NFC East co-leaders. The Eagles (9-3) opened with quick drives of 80 and 88 yards for touchdowns. They took sole possession of the division lead with four games remaining, including a rematch in less than three weeks. Tony Romo looked ragged in the first quick turnaround for his surgically repaired back as the Cowboys (8-4) lost their third straight home game. McCoy, who led the NFL with 1,604 yards last season, had his fourth 100-yard game in the past seven after going without one the first five weeks and secured his fourth 1,000-yard season since 2010. Although his deficit to Dallas’ DeMarco Murray in the rushing race is probably insurmountable, McCoy outgained Murray, who was held under 100 yards for just the second time this season. McCoy averaged 6.4 yards on 25 carries on the same field where he clinched the rushing title last December while the Eagles beat the Cowboys in a playoffs-or-bust finale. Murray finished with 73 yards and Dallas’ only touchdown on 20 carries, the last a 6-yard loss when he was dropped by Mychal Kendricks on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter. Making his fourth start since Nick Foles was sidelined by a broken collarbone, Sanchez was 9 of 11 for 99 yards in the first quarter. That included a 27-yard scoring pass to Jordan Matthews when Sanchez hit the rookie in stride on a crossing route for a 14-0 lead. Sanchez finished 20 of 29 for 217 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. The Cowboys looked a little sluggish following a kickoff that came about 90 hours after their dramatic 31-28 victory at the New York Giants on Sunday night. Murray had room to run at times but couldn’t break one longer than 9 yards. Romo had plenty of time to throw most of the day, but one time in the first half tossed a third-down pass to nobody in particular, giving the ball back to the Eagles when the Cowboys were having trouble stopping them. Playing on short rest for the first time since December back surgery and yet another injury on a sack against Washington last month, Romo looked skittish at times. The 34-year-old quarterback essentially sat down in the pocket with nobody in position to sack him on a third-down play after Jeremy Mincey recovered McCoy’s fumble at the Philadelphia 13 on the second play of the second half. The Cowboys had to settle for a field goal, and Philadelphia answered immediately on McCoy’s 38-yard scoring run, putting the Eagles up 30-10 on their third touchdown drive of at least 80 yards. Romo was sacked four times and finished 18 of 29 for 199 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns, snapping a streak of 38 games with at least one TD pass. McCoy had a 36-yard run on the opening drive that ended with Sanchez’s 2-yarder after faking the handoff to McCoy in the zone read. It was Sanchez’s first scoring run since Dec. 24, 2011, when he was the starter for the New York Jets. He kept the ball until he reached the sideline. By The Associated Press MailTribune.com By The Associated Press Posted Nov. 27, 2014 @ 5:12 pm » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. fantasy football Week 15 QB Start 'Em or Sit 'Em Dec. 9, 2014 at 5:06 pm Rodgers Kneel Kills Fantasy Hopes Dec. 9, 2014 at 4:08 pm Will History Repeat Itself in Week 15 Matchups? Dec. 9, 2014 at 2:50 pm Waiver, Rankings, Projections and More Dec. 9, 2014 at 12:00 pm MNF Fantasy Fallout: Downgrade Eddie Lacy in Week 15 Playoff Matchups? 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