Oakland Raiders: The 5 Toughest Games On The Schedule

Dec 7, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) celebrates his touchdown with running back Joique Bell (35) during the first quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Week 11: @Detroit Lions

The week 11 matchup with the Lions is one in which the Raiders’ secondary is going get more work than they could have ever thought possible. But with a QB who throws as often as Matthew Stafford does, and receivers like Calvin Johnson (aka Megatron), and Golden Tate on the outside, versus the Raiders’ corners, it will make for one interesting game to watch.

And with tight ends Brandon Pettigrew, Joseph Fauria, and Eric Ebron hailing in passes, Stafford has a ton of options on where to go with the football.

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Joique Bell is the team’s most reliable back, but he accumulated just 223 carries, 860 yards – for a 3.9 gamess per carry – overall for the season. It seems safe to say that the running game is almost something of an afterthought in Detroit’s offense.

Which of course, means that Hayden, Carrie, and McGill are going to see a ton of action. The unknown in all of this to this point, is just how well they will play in 2015. All have showed flashes of brilliance since coming in for Oakland. But all have also shown they need some work on their overall games.

If Oakland’s young corners can step up and put the clamps on Detroit’s weapons, not to mention getting a good defensive push to make Stafford uncomfortable in the pocket, they could very well steal the game.

Of course, if they remain inconsistent and struggle, Detroit may just put it on the Raiders in a big way in this match up – and on the scoreboard.

Next: Week 15: Making Cheese Soup