Five things to watch: Lions at Raiders
Vegas roadie?
Road trips to see your team in a hostile environment are the best, but Lions fans are victims of some poor timing as the last road game against the Raiders is Sunday.
So that trip to see the Lions in Las Vegas will have to wait until 2027 when Detroit and Chicago will be the last NFL teams to play their first road games there.
Instead, the Lions get a farewell to the old Oakland Coliseum on Sunday, taking on coach Jon Gruden and the Raiders (3-4).
The Lions (3-3-1) might need to finish 7-2 the rest of the way to ensure a playoff berth in the NFC. Taking care of business on the road against a sub-.500 team would put them back on the cusp of re-entering the playoff race.
Here are five things to watch as the Lions visit Oakland one last time (4:05 p.m., Fox/760):
Getting home
The Raiders’ offensive line is massive and good. Oakland averages 336.0 pounds across the line and has not allowed a sack in three straight games, and four total games this season. Trey Flowers, Romeo Okwara and Devon Kennard have to make Derek Carr feel them.
No more rotation!
Fans who have bemoaned the Lions’ insistence on the guard rotation could get a relief on Sunday, but not the one they wanted
Graham Glasgow was ruled out with a back injury, and it will be interesting to see if Kenny Wiggins and Joe Dahl go the entire game, or if Oday Aboushi or Beau Benzschawel makes their Detroit debuts. If they do, they could see plenty of former Michigan All-American Maurice Hurst Jr., in his second season with the Raiders.
Birthday boy
After turning 34 on Saturday, Danny Amendola is on a roll with a career-high pace in receiving yards.
More:Playing his best football, Lions' Amendola also setting bar for locker room's culture
Our own Justin Rogers detailed his intense preparation this week. We’ll see if it pays off against highly regarded safety LaMarcus Joyner.
Home cooking
The Black Hole is one of the scariest group of people — not in the NFL, but in society at large.
The Raiders have not played a home game since Sept. 15 — and remember, this team is leaving forever in a few weeks.
The Lions will come in for just the third game of the season at the Oakland Coliseum.
These folks will still be into it, but one wouldn’t be surprised if a good Detroit start could help dial them down to like a 7 in the level of bedlam.
Fantasy values
Marvin Jones Jr. and Matthew Stafford are usually fringe fantasy plays, but both should be in your lineups this week. (Although it’s been up and down for Kenny Golladay owners, he’s a must-start each week.)
According to Adam Thompson of Bookies.com, there’s a perfect storm for big passing game numbers.
Can Matthew Stafford keep up his strong season, and go from a fringe MVP candidate to more squarely in the race?
Matt Schoch is a freelance writer.