Detroit @ Las Vegas preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 10, 2018 ) Detroit 10, Oakland 16

The Detroit Lions will try to move back above .500 at the midpoint of the season when they visit the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. The Lions bounced back from a three-game losing streak against some of the league's top teams by getting past the New York Giants 31-26 last week.

Matthew Stafford had another solid effort in the win and has thrown for 706 yards and seven touchdowns over the last two weeks, getting the attention of Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. "Well he's feeling it right now, no question," Gruden said in a conference call with Detroit reporters of Stafford, who is battling an illness this week but expects to be fine. "I think he's comfortable with his receivers, I think he's really jelled with Darrell Bevell, the coordinator." Oakland lost its last two games -- both on the road -- and is beginning a stretch in which it plays three straight at home, including a Thursday night matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers four days after Detroit leaves town. The Raiders haven't defeated the Lions since 1996, losing each of the four matchups since then.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Raiders -2.5. O/U: 50.5

ABOUT THE LIONS (3-3-1): The trade deadline was a quiet one for Detroit, which is confident it can remain relevant in the NFC playoff picture over the next two months. "I like our team," head coach Matt Patricia told reporters after Tuesday's deadline. "We're tough, we compete, we work hard. I think it's just for us, it's business as normal." Stafford's solid play has coincided with a series of connections with wideout Kenny Golladay, who had 123 yards and two touchdowns against the Giants and has been targeted at least eight times in all but one game this year.

ABOUT THE RAIDERS (3-4): Derek Carr threw for 285 yards and three TDs at Houston last week, and the Fresno State product has seven scoring strikes with only one interception and one sack over his last four games. Oakland has allowed just eight sacks on the year, second fewest in the league, and none over the past three contests. Rookie running back Josh Jacobs leads the league's seventh-ranked rushing attack with 620 yards, but he has been limited at practice due to a shoulder issue.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Lions rank 26th in the league with 3.6 yards per carry and are tied for second-to-last with two rushing TDs.

2. Raiders TE Darren Waller ranks third in the NFL at his position in receiving yards (496) and second in receptions (46).

3. Both Stafford and Carr failed to throw a TD pass in the last meeting in 2015, but Stafford had a rushing score in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference.

PREDICTION: Lions 27, Raiders 24