Packers Use Early Lead to Defeat Lions, 30-21 : NFC: Green Bay goes ahead, 20-0, by halftime and holds Sanders without a touchdown.

The Green Bay Packers didn’t have to hold Barry Sanders to negative yardage this time. They buried the Detroit Lions too deep for it to matter.

Brett Favre threw for 342 yards, Edgar Bennett gained 148 yards from scrimmage and Chris Jacke kicked three field goals as the Packers built a 20-0 halftime lead and won, 30-21, Sunday.

Sanders finished with 124 yards in 18 carries but had no touchdowns in his first trip to Lambeau Field since his forgettable performance in the playoffs last New Year’s Eve. On that day, Sanders was held to minus-one yard in 13 carries in his worst day as a pro in the Lions’ 16-12 loss.

“If Barry can get 100 yards and you can still win a football game, that’s a hell of an accomplishment,” Green Bay defensive end Sean Jones said. “Normally, when he gets 100 yards, it’s a shoo-in.

“The runs that he made weren’t back-breakers and we didn’t allow him in the end zone, which was very important.”

For a change, it was Green Bay’s backfield that made a difference.

Bennett, who signed a three-year, $3.9-million contract on Thursday, gained 77 yards and a touchdown in 29 carries.

“I was long overdue for a rushing touchdown,” said Bennett, who added four catches for 71 yards, despite playing with a bone chip in his right ankle.

The Packers (4-2) used tight coverage to befuddle Lion quarterback Scott Mitchell, and George Teague’s interception ended Detroit’s last gasp with 1:11 left.

The Lions (2-4) pulled to 27-21 early in the final period on Herman Moore’s leaping eight-yard touchdown catch on fourth down, his second of the day.

But the Packers, behind Charles Jordan’s career-longest 35-yard catch to the Lions’ 36, responded with Jacke’s third field goal, from 20 yards with 7:58 left.

“It took us a while to get rolling,” Sanders said. “We really waited until the second half before we started playing our best ball. But the deficit we created was a little too much to erase.”

The Packers’ early lead forced Mitchell to the air and prevented Sanders from hurting them.

“It’s hard to stop Barry more than once, I guess,” said Detroit Coach Wayne Fontes. “But they are a good defensive team. Barry ran real well, but we lost the game. The bottom line is we lost. If you ask Barry, that’s all that he’d be concerned about. We didn’t win. And we didn’t play well enough to win.”

Favre completed 23 of 34 passes for two touchdowns. He was 15 for 19 for 215 yards and a touchdown in the first half.