DETROIT -- Matt Ryan got what he wanted. Calvin Johnson was forced to settle for what he could get. Ryan matched a career high with four touchdown passes, two to Roddy White, to help the Atlanta Falcons beat the Detroit Lions 31-18 Saturday night and earn home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. "Its great," Ryan said. "Our confidence is high and our experience -- good and bad -- has helped us. The key is to keep the focus where its been." In yet another loss, Johnson had a record-breaking night. Johnson broke Jerry Rices NFL single-season yards receiving mark of 1,848. After making the record-breaking catch in the fourth quarter, Johnson jogged over to the sideline and handed the football to his father. "That was a very special moment," he said. Johnson also became the only player with 100 yards receiving in eight straight games and the first with 10 receptions in four games in a row in league history. He had 11 receptions for 225 yards, giving him 1,892 this season. "Ive been an NFL fan my whole life, dating back to watching Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry as a kid, and Ive coached in this league for 19 years," Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said. "Ive seen a lot of Hall of Famers, but Ive never seen a better player than Calvin Johnson. "He just broke a record set by Jerry Rice, who is arguably the best player in this history of this league." The Falcons (13-2) pulled away with Ryans fourth TD pass to wide-open tight end Michael Palmer in the fourth quarter and Matt Bryants 20-yard field goal with 3:05 left that gave them a 15-point lead. Ryan was 25 of 32 for 279 yards without a turnover. The Falcons hope playing at home, potentially throughout the conference playoffs, helps them more than it did after the 2010 and 1980 seasons. The Falcons failed to win a game in either post-season, getting routed by Green Bay two years ago and blowing a double-digit, fourth-quarter lead to Dallas three decades ago. Atlanta advanced to its only Super Bowl with a win at Minnesota after winning a franchise-record 14 games during the 1998 season. The Falcons wont have much incentive to match that mark next week at home against Tampa Bay, when theyll have nothing to gain and something to lose if a key player or more gets hurt. Detroit (4-11) has been relegated to playing for pride this month and that hasnt been going very well. The Lions, whose seven-game losing streak is the longest skid in the league, havent struggled this much since the laughingstock of a franchise became the leagues first to go 0-16 in 2008. The Falcons led 21-3 at halftime before letting the Lions pull within five points early in the fourth quarter. Ryan dashed Detroits comeback hopes. Facing intense pressure, he converted a third down in Atlanta territory with a pass to White, picked on rookie cornerback Jonte Green by throwing to Jones to pick up more first downs and found Tony Gonzalez open to convert another third down to set up his fourth TD pass. "We didnt play well in the third quarter," Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. "Matt made some big throws on that drive." Stafford was clearly trying to get the ball to Johnson on the next drive and cornerback Asante Samuel figured that out, stepping in front of the receiver for an interception to set up Bryants field goal. Atlanta running back Michael Turner was tackled in the end zone, after Detroit turned the ball over on downs, to give the Lions two meaningless points. Ryan went deep to White for the first score, connecting with him on a 44-yard TD strike with 5:50 left in the first quarter. Ryan threw a short pass to him early in the second quarter and the standout receiver did the rest on a 39-yard sprint down the sideline. Ryan put his third TD pass where only Julio Jones could catch it a corner of the end zone, and he did on a 16-yard reception that put Atlanta up 21-3. Detroit didnt give up, a game after being accused of doing just that in a 38-10 loss at Arizona. Jason Hanson kicked a second field goal late in the first half to make it 21-6. After Atlanta opened the second half with a three-and-out drive, Mikel Leshoure scored on a 1-yard run midway through the third quarter to pull the Lions with eight points. Hansons third field goal made it 21-16. Stafford finished 37 of 56 for 443 yards with an interception and the Lions say he set an NFL record for the most yards passing in a game without throwing a TD pass. Detroit dug a big hole because the Falcons scored two TDs off turnovers in the first half. Defensive end Kroy Biermann forced running Leshoure to fumble, giving the Falcons the ball at their 31 and they took advantage. Ryans perfectly lofted pass to Whites fingertips converted a third-and-1 in a big way, putting the Falcons ahead. The Lions responded with another drive into Atlanta territory, but stalled and had to settle for Hansons 34-yard field goal in the final minute of the opening quarter to pull within four points. Atlanta earned a double-digit lead on the ensuing drive. Ryan threw a screen pass to his left to White, who got a great block from tight end Gonzalez, and the receiver raced untouched for a score that put the Falcons ahead 14-3. White finished with eight receptions for 153 yards and two TDs. Jones had seven receptions for 71 yards and a score. Ryan completed his first 12 attempts and, after his first incomplete pass, he converted a third-and-10 with an 11-yard toss to Jacquizz Rodgers. Two plays later, Ryan matched a season high with a third TD pass on the connection with Jones. Prior to the game, Ryan hadnt started a game with more than 10 consecutive completions, according to STATS LLC. He started 10 for 10 last month against Tampa Bay. Johnson had three receptions for 70 yards in the first quarter, breaking Herman Moores single-season franchise record for yards receiving. By halftime, Johnson had 117 yards receiving. He had 100 yards receiving for an eighth straight game, breaking a record set by Charley Hennigan in 1961 and matched by Michael Irvin in 1995. It was Johnsons 11th game with 100 yards receiving this season, tying Irvins NFL mark. "Calvin is one of the best players in the game and I think everybody is a big fan of his," Ryan said. "Hes one of the most genuinely nice people you could meet." Stafford connected with Johnson on a short crossing route and the receiver did the rest, outrunning Falcons on a 49-yard gain. Fittingly, the Lions turned the ball over on the next snap in the latest lowlight in a season full of them. The Lions, Falcons and fans at Ford Field in Detroit honoured the victims of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School before the game. Players had memorial decals on their helmets that read "S.H.E.S." in white on a black background, and Detroits coaches wore pins with a similar design. There was also a moment of silence before the national anthem while the names and ages of each victim were shown on the videoboards. Twenty children and six adults were killed in the Dec. 14 shooting in Newtown, Conn. Adam Lanza killed his mother, shot students and staff, then killed himself. NOTES: Stafford, in his fourth season, has 1,090 career completions to surpass Bobby Laynes franchise record of 1,074. Stafford is seven attempts away from surpassing the NFLs single-season mark of 691 set by Drew Bledsoe with New England in 1994. ... 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Players screamed and celebrated, bouncing around the grass with unabashed joy.(Sports Network) - The Toronto Raptors kick off a six-game homestand tonight when they host the Portland Trail Blazers at the Air Canada Centre. The last time these two teams played, the Trail Blazers went a record 0-20 from behind the 3-point line in a 92-74 win in Portland. That record that has since been broken by the Denver Nuggets. LaMarcus Aldridge paced the offense with 30 points and 12 rebounds as Portland extended its winning streak over Toronto to eight consecutive games. DeMar DeRozan had 20 points for the Raptors, who have not beaten the Blazers since a home victory on Jan. 13, 2008. After a tough early schedule, the Raptors will play 10 of its next 15 games at home. No team in the Eastern Conference made more 3-pointers than the Raptors from Dec. 14-31. Toronto made good on 77 shots from behind the arc in that span and made a season-high 15 3-pointers in Saturdays 123-88 win over the Orlando Magic. DeRozan had 21 points, Ed Davis added 18 and Jose Calderon notched 15 points and 10 assists for Toronto, which has won seven of its past eight. Kyle Lowry and Terrence Ross chipped in with 16 point apiece in the triumph, with Ross hitting a career-high four 3-pointers. "Its about sharing the ball and finding the wide-open guy," Calderon said. "t;We know if we make that extra pass, then the next play will result in that guy making the extra pass.dddddddddddd Its about trust." The Blazers had won just four of their first 14 road games this season prior to kicking off their swing on Tuesday in New York against the Knicks. Portland, though, used a balanced effort to snap a three-game road skid and win for the eighth time in its past 10 games overall thanks to a 105-100 decision. Nicolas Batum knocked down a season-high six 3-pointers and scored 26 points, while rookie Damian Lillard added 21 points, six assists and five rebounds. Lillard also hit a key 3-point to hold off a late Knicks charge in the final minute. "We withstood their run and were able to make some big plays down the stretch to win," said Blazers guard Wesley Matthews, who returned after missing six of the previous nine games with a left hip injury. Aldridge chipped in 19 points and 14 rebounds, while J.J. Hickson added 18 points and nine boards. "Obviously it was a great win for us," noted Portland head coach Terry Stotts. "Weve been struggling on the road and to get a win like this in the Garden against a good team like this was something that we havent had yet this year. We had a lot of good efforts." ' ' '