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Woodson has a near-flawless Thanksgiving Day

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DETROIT (AP) -- Charles Woodson had a day most people could only dream of enjoying.

He returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown, recovered a fumble he forced and had a sack to help the Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions 34-12 on Thursday.

Shortly before kickoff, the University of Michigan announced the former Wolverine has donated $2 million to its Mott Children's Hospital.

"It was a good day," Woodson said.

"But," he added. "I gave up a touchdown so that puts a little cloud over it."

Woodson did allow Calvin Johnson to catch a 1-yard touchdown when Matthew Stafford threw a perfect pass to his receiver's outside shoulder, then seemed flawless.

"He had an incredible day," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said after improving to 8-0 against Detroit. "I don't know who's playing better football than Charles Woodson in the National Football League."

The 1997 Heisman Trophy winner certainly is not showing signs of slowing down.

Oakland drafted him No. 4 overall in 1998 and he made only one interception in each of his last two seasons with the Raiders before joining the Packers three years ago.

He has picked off 26 passes in a Green Bay uniform and scored an NFL-high six TDs off interceptions.

In a win over Dallas this season, Woodson became the first player in two years to force two fumbles, make an interception and a sack in a game. His seven interceptions rank among league leaders and he trails only Nick Barnett on the team in tackles.

Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers compares Woodson with two of his former players, Rod Woodson and Jason Taylor, who won the NFL defensive player of the year award.

"He falls right into that group," Capers said.

Woodson, though, is only interested in helping the Packers (7-4) keep the momentum they've created with three straight victories.

"We need to keep stacking wins," he said.

The Lions (2-9) were hoping to simply win two straight games for the first time in more than two years.

"Obviously it's tough," Matthew Stafford said.

The No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, playing with a sore non-throwing shoulder, threw four interceptions after his TD to Johnson gave Detroit a 7-0 lead.

His performance was dramatically different than his last one. He threw five TD passes -- the last one after being momentarily knocked out of the game -- to lead Detroit to a win after trailing Cleveland by 21 for its biggest comeback since 1957.

Stafford's job Thursday was made more difficult because the Lions lacked a running game.

Kevin Smith's longest run was 6 yards and he finished with 43 on 18 carries for the Lions.

"This is the type of game that you hit your head on a wall about," Smith said.

The Lions have turned their Thanksgiving game into a laughingstock.

They have lost a franchise-high six straight games on the holiday by an average of 23.2 points and eight of nine in their showcase game.

Cowboys 24, Raiders 7

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Tony Romo snapped the Dallas Cowboys from their offensive slumber by leading them to a season-high 494 yards, with Miles Austin delivering 145 yards and a touchdown.

By winning for the sixth time in seven games, Dallas (8-3) is guaranteed of going into the final month of the season atop the NFC East.

Oakland (3-8) and its new starting quarterback, Bruce Gradkowski, were coming off a victory over division-leading Cincinnati just a few days before, but couldn't even cross midfield in the first half. The Raiders' lone highlight was top draft pick Darrius Heyward-Bey making the first touchdown catch of his career.

Dallas' defense continued its strong play, with linebacker Anthony Spencer coming up with his first two sacks of the season. It was especially sweet for him because his predecessor, Greg Ellis, was watching from the Oakland sideline.

Ellis, who was cut to make room for Spencer in the starting lineup, made a few tackles early but didn't play much after that, likely because of a lingering knee injury.

The Cowboys were coming off two straight lousy outings on offense, and had more to worry about with Romo nursing a sore back and Jason Witten questionable because of a sprained left foot.

But Romo went 18 of 29 for 309 yards with two touchdown passes and no turnovers. Witten not only made his 102nd straight start, he caught five passes for 107 yards, his most since last Thanksgiving.

Broncos 26, Giants 6

DENVER -- Kyle Orton drove Denver on six scoring drives, Matt Prater kicked four field goals and safety Brian Dawkins led a ferocious defense 48 hours after calling a players-only meeting, and the Broncos beat the New York Giants.

Elvis Dumervil dumped Eli Manning twice, extending his NFL-leading sack total to 14. Dumervil's second one came in the fourth quarter and resulted in a fumble that sealed Denver's first win since Oct. 19.

Hosting their first Thanksgiving game since 1963 in the AFL, the Broncos returned to the physical style of play that marked their 6-0 start and ditched the sieve that was their defense during their four-game skid.

Behind three takeaways, the Broncos (7-4) halted their freefall and pulled within a half game of AFC West leader San Diego. New York (6-5), which snapped its four-game losing streak on Sunday, fell two games behind Dallas, which beat Oakland earlier Thursday, in the NFC East.

Nearing best November since 1970

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee running back Chris Johnson just keeps running onto some rare NFL ground in his second season.

Johnson already has put his name alongside the likes of Jim Brown, Earl Campbell and Eric Dickerson by running for at least 125 yards each of the past five games -- only the eighth player in NFL history to reach that feat.

Now he's got a chance to top Barry Sanders for the best November in the NFL since the 1970 merger with the AFL.

Sanders ran for 701 yards in five games during November 1997, and Johnson is 55 yards back playing his fifth game this month Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. He said it feels good to hear his name mentioned with those running backs.

The NFL's leading rusher with 1,242 yards has been running wild on his current streak. He can become only the third player in NFL history to run for 125 yards or more in six consecutive games Sunday, joining Dickerson (1984) and Campbell, who played for the same franchise when it was based in Houston in 1980.

Johnson has been even hotter during November in helping the Titans (4-6) win four straight.

He set a franchise-record with 228 yards Nov. 1 against Jacksonville, added 135 yards at San Francisco, 132 against Buffalo and reached 151 yards in Monday night's 20-17 win at Houston.

That's 646 yards on 104 carries with six touchdowns. Sanders needed 100 carries for his 701 yards for Detroit in 1997.

Steelers look at Ramsey, Bouman

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers have met with experienced quarterbacks Patrick Ramsey and Todd Bouman, a sign that injured backup Charlie Batch might be out longer than the team first expected.

Batch broke his left wrist in Kansas City on Sunday, leaving second-year quarterback Dennis Dixon as the only backup to starter Ben Roethlisberger on the 53-man roster. Former Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko is on the practice squad.

Batch had surgery on Wednesday and was expected to be out two to four weeks.

Ramsey was cut by Tennessee last month. Bouman, a former Vikings backup, played briefly for Baltimore last season.

Turner practices again

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Falcoins running back Michael Turner practiced lightly Thursday for the second straight day, and backup Jerious Norwood was a full participant.

Turner missed last week's 34-31 loss to the New York Giants with a high ankle sprain, and coach Mike Smith listed the Pro Bowl selection as "limited" in practice.

Norwood has missed the last five games with a hip flexor, but has been in practice the past two days. Jason Snelling started last week and ran 25 times for 76 yards and two touchdowns.

Turner led the NFL with 376 carries in 2008 and finished second to Adrian Peterson with 1,699 yards rushing. He's averaging 5.0 yards attempt this year on 165 carries.

The Falcons (5-5) host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-9) on Sunday.

Jackson misses practice

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson did not practice for the second straight day while recovering from lower back spasms, but the team remains confident he'll play Sunday against Seattle.

Guard Richie Incognito, fullback Mike Karney (neck) and offensive tackle Jason Smith also did not practice Thursday. Smith has not been cleared to return from a mild concussion and Incognito has been all but ruled out for a fourth straight game with a foot injury.

Coach Steve Spagnuolo said the team was playing it safe with Jackson, who has four straight 100-yard rushing games. He said Jackson told him he felt better but not good enough to practice.