Lions Vs. Raiders: Detroit Banged Up In 31-20 Loss To Oakland

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Lions Injury Report: Detroit Dealing With Injuries In Secondary

The Detroit Lions escaped a big scare on Saturday when quarterback Matthew Stafford's injured left hand turned out to be just a broken blood vessel. But the secondary -- which could be the difference between merely another playoff appearance and Detroit making a serious run at the Super Bowl -- was not so lucky.

Rookie Bill Bentley, a third-round pick from Louisiana-Lafayette who has been in the starting lineup at times this preseason, left in the first half after injuring his shoulder. Joining him on the bench in the first half was fellow corner Chris Houston, who banged up his ankle. It is not yet known how serious either of those injuries are, though there has been no indication that either Bentley or Houston will miss the start of the regular season.

With those two out, the Lions were forced to elevate Jacob Lacey, Justin Miller and Alphonso Smith.

For more on the Lions, check out Pride Of Detroit or SB Nation Detroit. For more news, notes and analysis from around the NFL, visit SB Nation's NFL news hub.

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Kevin Smith Injury: Lions RB X-Rays Negative

The Detroit Lions running back Kevin Smith had to leave his game against the Oakland Raiders after injuring his right ankle.

Smith was taken into the locker room and given x-rays, which luckily came back negative, according to Dave Birkett. Birkett also reports Smith didn't suffer a high ankle sprain, which can take awhile to recover from.

The injury still has to be somewhat concerned for Lions fans. Smith hurt the same ankle last season and was never able to get on track, leaving Detroit with one of the worst rushing attacks in the NFL.

Jahvid Best is supposed to help Smith carry the load in 2012, but he's yet to be cleared from a concussion he sustained last year. Unfortunately, Best has a long history with concussions, leaving the question of when he'll be able to come back up in the air.

Last year, Smith rushed for 356 yards and scored four touchdowns.

For more on the Kevin Smith, please be sure to check out our blog Pride of Detroit and SB Nation Detroit along with our Football Hub and SBNation.com for all the latest news and updates.

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Matthew Stafford Injury: X-Rays Negative For Lions QB

Lions fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief as Tim Twentyman reports that the X-rays on the left hand of starting quarterback Matt Stafford are negative.

Stafford injured the non-throwing hand during a preseason game against the Oakland Raiders on Saturday night when he hit it on an opposing pass rusher's helmet. The injury ended Stafford's game, but the quarterback told reporters that it's fine and he would have continued playing had it been a regular season game instead.

Stafford missed 19 games in the first two seasons of his career after being selected with the first pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, but managed to stay healthy and start all 16 games of the 2011 season. The quarterback finished Saturday night's game with eight completions on 10 attempts for 68 yards passing, but didn't record a touchdown or interception.

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Kevin Smith Injury: Lions RB Injures Ankle

In the third quarter of a preseason game against the Raiders on Saturday night, Lions running back Kevin Smith limped off of the field with a right ankle injury.

Smith told reporters on Friday that he's "never felt better" entering Saturday's game. Welp. Smith has spent his entire career with the Lions after being selected in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. After a solid rookie season with just under 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns, injuries have consistently followed the running back including injuries to his right ankle.

Smith, who missed several games during the 2011 NFL season with an injury to the same ankle, was obviously unhappy with the injury and was seen punching the bench in frustration. He left the game with zero yards rushing, despite three carries.

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Lions Vs. Raiders: Oakland Leads 7-6 At Half

After the first half at O.co Coliseum, the Oakland Raiders lead the Lions 7-6 thanks to a 12-play, 86-yard drive in the second quarter that was capped with a one-yard touchdown run by Darren McFadden.

The Lions got on the scoreboard first with a 41-yard Jason Hanson field goal in the first quarter and cut the lead to one with another Hanson field goal in the second quarter, this time from 30 yards out. Following a Willie Young interception from Carson Palmer, the Lions offense was given the ball on the seven-yard line but couldn't take the lead after a pass from Shaun Hill intended for Calvin Johnson fell incomplete.

The Lions received another opportunity after a Stephen Tulloch interception, Palmer's second of the game. This was also squandered with a three-and-out. Hill played much of the first half in replacement of Matt Stafford who left the game early with a finger injury on his non-throwing arm.

Mikel Leshoure, the 2011 second-round pick of the Lions, made his NFL debut in the first half after missing the entire 2011 season due to injury, but was underwhelming, gaining just one yard on five carries and adding a six-yard reception.

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Matthew Stafford Injury: Lions QB Leaves Game After Hurting Left Hand

Matthew Stafford has come out of the Lions' preseason contest against the Raiders after banging his non-throwing hand on a defender's helmet. Stafford's left hand is wrapped and he is on the Detroit bench.

Stafford has a pretty heavy wrap around his left hand. He's laughing and talking to Linehan on sideline, though. At least it's the left.

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) August 26, 2012

Here's a .gif of the play where Stafford was injured:

Before coming out with the injury, Stafford was 8-of-10 passing for 68 yards. Thus far in two previous preseason games Stafford has completed 16 of 24 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns.

The fourth-year QB struggled with injuries in 2010, but started all 16 of the Lions' games last season, throwing for 5,038 yards and 41 touchdowns.

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Lions Vs. Raiders: Detroit Leads Oakland 3-0 After First Quarter

A 41-yard field goal by Jason Hanson with 1:51 remaining in the first quarter was the only scoring in the period, as the Detroit Lions took a 3-0 lead over the Oakland Raiders after one quarter Saturday. Hanson's field goal capped off a 12-play drive for the Lions.

Running back Mikel Leshoure, making his Lions debut, had four carries for four yards in the quarter. Matthew Stafford was 6-for-7 passing in the quarter, including a 17-yard completion to Tony Scheffler, and Nate Burleson had three receptions for 21 yards.

The Raiders had four penalties for 20 yards in the quarter. Detroit was penalized twice for 15 yards. Ndamukong Suh had a sack for the Lions, who are trying to improve to 2-1 in the preaseason.

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Lions Vs. Raiders: Injured Defensive End Kyle Vanden Bosch Participates In Pregame Warmups

Detroit Lions defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch has missed most of training camp and all of the preseason with a knee injury, but he was on the field doing pregame warmups prior to Saturday's preseason game against the Oakland Raiders.

Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, who reported earlier this week that Vanden Bosch was unlikely to play against the Raiders, tweeted this before the game:

Kyle Vanden Bosch just came out with his gamepants on. Looks like he might try & go for the 1st time this preseason

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) August 25, 2012

However, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News tweeted this:

Kyle Vanden Bosch (knee) is going to go through pre-game warmups but is not expected to play. Just wants to get a workout in...

— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) August 25, 2012

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Lions Vs. Raiders: Game Time, TV Schedule, Injury Updates And More

With the start of the 2012 NFL season rapidly approaching, the Detroit Lions will hit the field for their third preseason game on Saturday night against the Oakland Raiders at the O.co Coliseum.

The Lions offered fans a nice tease of things to come in a victory over the Ravens last Friday, in a game where quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with Pro Bowl receiver Calvin Johnson on five passes for 111 yards and a score in less than a half of play. Even with such a small sample size during a pair of meaningless games, the two offensive stars appear to be in mid-season form and look poised to match their impressive offensive numbers from a year ago.

In order to take the franchise to the next level though, Stafford and Johnson will each need their team's running attack to be much more than the middling product it has been in recent years. Thankfully, good news on that front should come in the form of 2011 draftee Mikel Leshoure, who will conveniently make his Lions debut on Saturday.

Considering his ideal blend of power and speed, the Lions are desperately hoping the 6'0, 227-pound back from Illinois can quite literally run away with the job, or at the very least prove that he can at some point in the future. The status of tailback Jahvid Best remains a sore spot for the organization heading into the year, and Leshoure is easily one of the biggest X-factors on the Lions' roster at the moment.

"I feel good," Leshoure told the Detroit Free Press. "My body might react a little bit different probably the next day. It might be a little bit more sore than usual, but I'm aware of that, and I'm ready for it."

But for a player who hasn't been in a game situation since Dec. 29, 2010 (seriously), back in college no less, the real story on Saturday might not be how well Leshoure plays, but for how long. Lions coaches have already announced their plan to keep starters in the game for essentially the first half, even if it's quite clear the second-year tailback is a special case.

"I believe he'll go out and perform very well," Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan stated confidently after Thursday's practice. "It won't be a full game, but we'll get him a fair amount, and once we feel that he's got enough work in, then we'll just kind of make that call during a game."

While the debut of Leshoure is an obvious boost, the Lions are still expected to play without the services of a few key players on Saturday due to injuries. Among them is starting safety Louis Delmas, who has not progressed as hoped from knee surgery and doesn't appear likely to play in the team's Sept. 9 opener. Defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch is also unlikely to suit up after not taking part in team drills on Thursday, while running back Stefan Logan and linebacker Travis Lewis are each also expected to be held out of action with injuries.

Game Date/Time: Saturday, August 25; 7 p.m. EDT

Location: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.

Radio: Sirius 88/135

TV: WXYZ Channel 7

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Mikel Leshoure To Play A 'Fair Amount' Against Raiders

After a recovery that's lasted roughly a year, Detroit Lions running back Mikel Leshoure is finally expected to play in his first professional game on Saturday against the Oakland Raiders. Speaking with Justin Rogers of MLive, Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan cautioned that he won't play too much, though:

It's not going to be a full game. We'll talk about it as a staff and we'll get him a fair amount. Once we see that he's got enough work in, we'll kind of make that call during the game.

After being drafted in the second round of the 2011 draft, Leshoure tore his ACL last August and ended up missing the entire 2011 season. He's also missing most of this year's training camp with a hamstring issue, but the former Illinois running back is expected to make his pro debut this weekend.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Detroit. For more in-depth coverage of this matchup, visit Lions blog Pride Of Detroit and Raiders blog Silver And Black Pride. And for more news and notes from around the NFL, check out SB Nation's NFL hub.