ALLEN PARK, Mich. — After two straight games without a touchdown, the Detroit Lions offense finally showed some of the explosiveness many expected before the season in a 34-17 win over the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving.

The Lions gained 474 yards of offense, their best production in 2014, and scored touchdowns on three straight drives in the second quarter, ending an end-zone drought of nine quarters and 25 drives. With the win, the Lions (8-4) remain in excellent position to contend for a postseason berth as their next three games — home against Tampa Bay and Minnesota and at Chicago — are all winnable.

Prior to Thursday’s game, the Lions hadn’t scored more than 24 points since Week 1, and even though they played a wounded Bears defense, the performance provides a confidence boost for the remainder of the season.

“I think everybody was extremely motivated coming into this game to play well,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “I know I was, and it showed.”

Stafford was excellent, finishing 34 of 45 for 390 yards and two touchdowns. After completing just 39.1 percent of his passes the week before, Stafford was precise for nearly the whole game and completed 75.6 percent of his passes. Based on pregame warmups, he expected the Lions to break out of their funk and his teammates felt the same way.

Calvin Johnson finished with 11 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns. He also became the 43rd receiver in NFL history to eclipse 10,000 receiving yards and is the fastest to reach the mark, needing just 115 games.

Johnson’s first touchdown early in the second quarter helped the Lions end the poor streak, and it helped that it was an aggressive play between three defenders.

“He sparked it for us, and he should,” left guard Rob Sims said of Johnson’s first touchdown. “He’s our leader, he’s our star, and once he does that, it’s like, ‘OK, let’s go.'”

The Lions offense played at a faster tempo than usual, and the improved execution helped keep the unit moving. Looking ahead, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi must find a way to keep the tempo high as Stafford looks most comfortable when he doesn’t take much time between snaps.

“You’ve got to do it for four quarters,” Stafford said of the offense finding its rhythm. “We had shown that we could do it in spurts at times this season, but to put it together for 60 minutes is gratifying.”

REPORT CARD VS. BEARS

PASSING OFFENSE: A — Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson were exceptional Thursday to help the offense regain some confidence for the postseason chase. After one early missed throw and a fumble, Stafford didn’t make any mistakes and finished 34 of 45 for 390 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson caught both those touchdowns on impressive plays and had 11 catches for 146 yards. The Lions also allowed just two sacks, and Golden Tate added eight catches for 89 yards.

RUSHING OFFENSE: B — Relative to this season, the mark could be an A, but the Lions did have just 16 rushing yards in the first half. Joique Bell was the only Lions player with a carry and gained 91 yards on 23 rushes, two of which were 1-yard touchdowns. His performance in the second half helped seal the game.

PASS DEFENSE: A-minus — The secondary made some mistakes early, and the defensive line was slow to adjust to Chicago’s quick-passing plan. But after two first-quarter touchdowns, the Bears could hardly move the ball through the air, and cornerbacks Darius Slay and Rashean Mathis did great in coverage against Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall, respectively. Safeties Glover Quin and James Ihedigbo each had an interception, too.

RUSH DEFENSE: A — The Lions earned this grade before stepping on the field as their reputation convinced the Bears to effectively eliminate run plays from the game plan. Chicago ran just eight times, the fewest in franchise history, and gained just 13 yards, the third fewest in franchise history.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B — Jeremy Ross had some rough returns and averaged just 21.7 yards on kickoffs, giving the Lions bad field position early in the game. Otherwise, the third unit was great as Sam Martin averaged 51 yards per punt and downed one at the Chicago 3. Matt Prater added field goals from 46 and 40 yards.

COACHING: A — Jim Caldwell’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line in the second quarter completely changed the game as Joique Bell’s touchdown gave the Lions a 17-14 lead. Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi also showed that he can get his unit in a rhythm even if the start of the game looked much like the last two.