The Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders face off in a Week 9 matchup that many will probably just brush over as a fairly meaningless game. And we may look back on this game in a couple months and see that they were right.
But, for now, the stakes are actually pretty high for both teams. The Raiders (3-4) are in second place in their division, and with the Chiefs still expected to be without Patrick Mahomes against a good Minnesota Vikings team, they could move within a half game of first place with a win and a Chiefs loss on Sunday.
The Lions, while still far behind in the NFC North race, can move to above .500 and keep their name in contention for the Wild Card with a win Sunday afternoon. After this week, the Lions still have five games remaining against teams with a losing record (Bears twice, Broncos, Buccaneers and Washington). Count those as wins along with a win in Oakland, and you’ve got a team sitting with nine wins with three other games on the schedule.
Of course, none of that matters if Detroit can’t pick up a gritty win on the road. So will they do it? Here are our predictions for Week 9.
Justin Simon (5-2): 28-24 Lions
Alex Reno (4-3): 31-27 Lions
Mike Payton (4-3): Lions win
Hamza Baccouche (4-3): 35-32 Lions
Mansur Shaheen (4-3): 27-17 Lions
Ryan Mathews (4-3): 28-17 Lions
Jeremy Reisman (4-3): 31-30 Raiders
John Whiticar (4-3): 31-27 Lions
Kyle Yost (4-3): 24-23 Lions
Kellie Rowe (3-3): 23-20 Lions
Levi Blue (3-4): 34-17 Lions
Jerry Mallory (1-3): N/A
Andrew Kato (1-5): 23-10 Lions
Chris Perfett (0-7): 16-11 Raiders
Now it’s time for you to pitch in. What do you think will happen in the Lions’ final game in Oakland? Vote in the poll and give us your score prediction in the comment section.