Lions mauled by Packers on Thanksgiving Day

By Steve Keating

DETROIT (Reuters) - On the day when Americans count their blessings, the Detroit Lions were left to try and add up theirs after a 34-12 Thanksgiving Day thrashing by the Green Bay Packers on Thursday.

Aaron Rodgers tossed three touchdown passes and Charles Woodson returned an interception for another as the Packers improved to 7-4 to stay in the NFC wildcard chase while the Lions suffered their sixth consecutive Thanksgiving Day blowout.

"We needed to win this one," Rodgers told reporters. "We knew the effort Detroit was going to bring but we stuck with our game plan and battled."

With just two wins in 11 games this season, fans of the Lions have little to be thankful for this holiday but although the balance sheet makes grim reading it is two more victories than Detroit had all last season, offering hope for brighter days ahead.

These are still tough times in the Motor City where unemployment, foreclosures and crime are among the highest in the United States.

Burned out homes, boarded up store fronts and empty skyscrapers surround Ford Field but among the decay there are small signs things are getting better in Motown and the Lions are part of the rebuilding process.

Having put last year's winless season behind them, the Lions are no longer the NFL's worst team or the punch line for comedians' jokes.

New uniforms, a new logo, new head coach Jim Schwartz and Matthew Stafford, a rifle-armed rookie quarterback, have helped put some bite back into the toothless Lions.