Despite losing 27-26 to the Oakland Raiders, the Detroit Lions are probably quite pleased with what they saw early on from their starters and especially Matthew Stafford, throwing two touchdown passes before the hosts got on a roll which they rode until their narrow win.

The Raiders came back from a 13-point deficit late in the third quarter to pick up their first win of the preseason. Derek Carr and Matt McGloin looked better than the starting Matt Schaub in their second half performances, while the designated starter completed just 8-of-13 passes and threw an interception that brought everyone’s mind back to his disastrous season in 2013, in which the Houston Texans fell apart at the seams.

The Raiders also got a touchdown from Darren McFadden, their opening score, as the running back is trying to prove that his career isn’t two years away from being over. Maurice Jones-Drew, finally out of Jacksonville and now playing in his hometown of Oakland, finished with 12 yards on six carries, although the potential of getting something out of this duo is quite high if the Raiders can just sort their quarterback situation.

The Lions didn’t look too impressive with their pass rush this time but it was enough to make Schaub make some bad decisions and throws before the more lenient unit came on. George Winn scored a rushing touchdown for the Lions, while Reggie Bush was held to seven yards on three carries. He also caught two screen passes for just two yards.

Calvin Johnson didn’t play, but the offense looked crisp without him. Golden Tate caught three passes for 41 yards and a touchdown during his time on the field and Kris Durham caught a touchdown pass from the hands of Stafford as well. Eric Ebron continues to have an impressive preseason with two receptions and 36 yards, as the Lions seemed to have picked the right weapon to make things even easier than before for Stafford.

The Raiders have a much less impressive line of receivers and play makers on offense, which makes the hope of Matt Schaub being their quarterback fix after too many years without really feeling good about their play caller slightly desperate. He is a good quarterback but sometimes one bad season ruins a player forever, while giving more chances to McGloin or Carr could be the actual better way to go.

Image: Source