When looking at the Week 9 schedule, there are quite a few standout games. The Detroit Lions vs. the Oakland Raiders is not necessarily one that jumps off of the slate, but it should. Both are up-and-coming teams fighting for respect in their respective conferences, and both are underrated.

This one should be down to the wire, but there are a couple of things that the Lions can do that will go a long way in securing a win.

2. The performance of the offensive line

In a game where neither team has a truly dominant pass-rusher, the offensive line with the least mistakes will give their team the edge. The Raiders' pass rush is lacking, as they have a combined 13 sacks on the year. Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns has ten on his own.

The only way that the Raiders' defensive line wins the upper hand is through colossal mistakes from the Lions upfront. Detroit's guys have only allowed 16 sacks on the season, far better than league average. They should have no trouble manhandling Oakland's defenders in pass protection.

While the Lions clearly have the advantage when protecting quarterback Matt Stafford, what about the run game? In week 8's game against the New York Giants, the Lions were totally inept on the ground The loss of lead running back Kerryon Johnson definitely played a factor, but there are no excuses in the NFL.

Detroit's struggles on the ground can't even really be attributed to the running backs. The offensive line has allowed runs to be stuffed behind the line of scrimmage 21% of the time, according to Football Outsiders. That number is abysmal and is kneecapping the ground attack. On the other hand, Oakland's run defense has been surprisingly good. They allow 93 yards a game, good for ninth-best in the league.

For a huge upper hand, the Lions need to be able to average at least four yards per carry.

1. The wide receivers

To this point, Detroit's wide receivers have been up and down. Marvin Jones scored four touchdowns in week 7 and then had below 50 yards receiving in week 8. Two of Kenny Golladay's 100-yard receiving days were followed with games below 25 yards receiving.

The inconsistency is hard to deal with, but if these pass-catchers can find their groove, the Lions will be a couple of steps closer to a win. The Raiders have allowed 285 yards passing per game, 30th in the NFL. The Motor City receivers have to be able to exploit a porous secondary in order for the Lions to steal one on the road.