Lions at Raiders
THE STORY: As the Detroit Lions try to maintain their hold on a wild-card berth in the NFC, the Oakland Raiders attempt to keep their playoff hopes alive in the AFC when the teams collide Sunday. Detroit has lost five of its last eight games overall and two straight on the road. But the Lions should get a lift by the return of defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh following his two-game suspension for intentionally stomping on Evan Dietrich-Smith in Detroit's loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving. The club went 1-1 without Suh despite allowing a total of 59 points. Oakland's postseason chances have dwindled thanks to back-to-back losses to the Miami Dolphins and Green Bay that dropped it one game behind the Denver Broncos in the AFC West. The Raiders, who have yielded 80 points in the two setbacks, are one of three teams that trail the New York Jets by one game for the final wild-card spot in the conference.
TV: FOX, 4:05 p.m. ET. LINE: Lions -1, O/U 47.5.
ABOUT THE LIONS (8-5): Quarterback Matthew Stafford is looking to extend his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 16. Detroit has won two straight meetings with Oakland after losing the previous four. Kicker Jason Hanson is three points shy of becoming the first player in NFL history to score 2,000 with one franchise. Calvin Johnson, who leads the NFC with 12 TD catches, is one of three players with at least 12 touchdown receptions in three of his first five seasons. Hall of Famers Lance Alworth and Jerry Rice are the others. Detroit's six defensive TDs are the club's most in a season since 1967.
ABOUT THE RAIDERS (7-6): Oakland is tied with the Houston Texans for the AFC lead with 15 rushing touchdowns. Michael Bush is one rushing TD away from matching his career high of eight set last season. Carson Palmer threw a season-high four interceptions in last week's loss at Green Bay. Palmer has been picked off 13 times in seven games this season while throwing only nine touchdown passes. Palmer could have prime target Denarius Moore back Sunday as the receiver hopes to return after missing three contests with a foot injury.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Oakland has allowed the game's first 34 points in each of its last two losses.
2. Stafford is 246 passing yards away from becoming the third quarterback in Lions history to reach 4,000.
3. The teams are meeting for the first time since Detroit posted a 36-21 road victory on Sept. 9, 2007.