By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

photo credit USA Today Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and wide receiver Amari Cooper

OAKLAND — Suffering a three-game losing streak in the NFL is like losing 10 games in the NBA. It’s hard to come back from it, but its doable.

The Raiders (4-6), are hoping that a trip to Nashville to face the (2-8) Titans Sunday in Week 12 will get the team trending in the right direction after whispers of playoff talk surfaced after their second-straight win (a 34-20 victory over the New York Jets), three weeks ago.

Oakland averaged 35.3 points per game during a three-game stretch from Oct. 25-Nov. 8 and were in the top-five in most offensive categories but after last week’s 18-13 loss at Detroit, Oakland fell back down to earth and were held to a season-low 214 total yards.

Coming into the contest, Detroit allowed an average of 384.2 total yards per game.

Starting quarterback Derek Carr failed to throw a touchdown for the first time since Week 1, which was a surprise. Carr finished 13-of-25 for 169 passing yards.For the season, Carr is currently tied for fourth in the NFL with Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning with 21 touchdown passes and just six interceptions with a 99.4 quarterback rating.

The biggest surprise was that exciting rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper was held by a putrid Lions’ secondary to just one catch on four targets. Cooper has not gone over a 100 yards receiving since Week 7 (a 37-29 win at San Diego). Oakland needs to  find more ways to get Cooper more involved in the offense early.

AFC rushing yards leader Latavius Murray (157 carries, 706 yards and four touchdowns), has been quiet the last two weeks, just managing 75 yards rushing on 25 carries. Murray scored Oakland’s lone touchdown Sunday at Detroit.

After giving up 68 points over the past two games, Oakland’s defense has played well in Detroit but didn’t produce a turnover and allowed the Lions to drive 80 yards in nine plays for the go-ahead touchdown by Detroit starting quarterback Matthew Stafford in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee is coming off a bye week and has won the last three games in the series versus Oakland, but are tied with the worst record in the NFL.

The Titans are 1-2 under interim head coach Mike Mularkey, who took over for the fired Ken Whisenhunt. Mularkey has seen Tennessee drop to last in the AFC with 18.2 points per game and just totaled 23 points in two games.

Titans’ rookie starting quarterback Marcus Mariota was sacked four times in Tennessee’s 19-13 loss at Jacksonville. Mariota scored Tennessee’s lone touchdown, but has not thrown a touchdown since his four-touchdown passing performance in a 34-28 overtime victory over the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 8 at the Mercedes Superdome.