Lions 23, Raiders 13

DETROIT (AP)—Charles Woodson was embarrassed to lose to the Detroit Lions.

Then, the star cornerback said Oakland coach Bill Callahan has lost his team.

“It’s no secret at this point,” Woodson said.

Jason Hanson, who kicked three field goals Sunday in Detroit’s 23-13 win against Oakland, did not take offense to Woodson’s comments.

“We’re not very good,” Hanson said. “Our record isn’t good and we’re playing a lot of backups. They’ve got a lot of players and they were just in the Super Bowl. People are going to say it’s embarrassing to lose to us until we start putting some wins together.”

The Lions (2-6) had lost six straight and 14 of 15 dating back to last season.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s been difficult,” said Joey Harrington, who was 13-of-21 for 117 yards with a TD and an interception.

Detroit turned two turnovers into 10 first-quarter points, and scored 13 more on its first three second-half possessions.

Oakland (2-6) has lost four straight and looks nothing like the team that lost to Tampa Bay in last season’s Super Bowl. The Raiders are off to their worst start since 1964, when they were 1-7-1.

Does Callahan think he still has the team?

“No question, I’m very confident,” Callahan said.

Raiders quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo, in his first NFL start in place of 2002 league MVP Rich Gannon, was sidelined with a left knee injury late in the first half. Rick Mirer made his first appearance since playing one game for San Francisco three years ago.

Tuiasosopo was 6-of-11 for 65 yards, with an interception on his second pass. He walked out of the training room awkwardly with a brace covering much of his left leg.

“We did an X-ray and it’s at least a sprained ligament,” Tuiasosopo said. “We won’t know for sure what it is until (Monday).”

Mirer was 15-of-28 for 125 yards with two interceptions. Gannon traveled with the team, but was inactive. Gannon hurt his shoulder Oct. 20 against Kansas City.

Detroit’s Olandis Gary, who ran for a TD, and Shawn Bryson combined for 99 yards rushing.

Harrington’s 33-yard TD pass to Cory Schlesinger gave the Lions a 17-3 lead early in the third quarter.

Oakland responded with a 14-play drive capped by Charlie Garner’s 7-yard run. Hanson’s 42-yard kick put Detroit back ahead by 10.

Detroit’s Reggie Swinton muffed a punt and Nnamdi Asomugha recovered the football at the Lions 9, but the Raiders wasted the opportunity. They had to settle for Sebastian Janikowski’s 24-yard kick early in the fourth quarter.

But again, Oakland could not stop Detroit, which hadn’t scored more than 17 points since beating Arizona 42-24 in Week 1.

Hanson’s 39-yard kick gave the Lions a 23-13 lead with 5:52 left.

“If there’s anybody better in the league than Jason Hanson, I don’t know who it would be,” Detroit coach Steve Mariucci said.

Hanson has made all nine of his field goal attempts this season, including three from at least 50 yards.

Detroit has been without three of its top four cornerbacks because of season-ending injuries, and its best cornerback, Dre’ Bly, did not play Sunday because of a hamstring injury.

Because cornerbacks Rod Babers (shoulder) and Jimmy Wyrick (chest) also were inactive, Doug Evans started in Bly’s place opposite 38-year-old Otis Smith and Jacoby Shepherd was active. Evans signed with the Lions on Friday and Shepherd joined the team Wednesday.

“I was sitting at home (in Seattle) on my couch when they called Thursday,” Evans said. “Then I got on a flight, got to Detroit at about 5:30 a.m. Friday, got an hour of sleep, then basically had one day of practice before they told me I was starting.”

Smith cut in front of Jerry Rice to make his first interception this season to set up Hanson’s 54-yard field goal. Evans poked a reception out of Rice’s hands, and linebacker Barrett Green returned the fumble 38 yards to set upGary’s 2-yard run that put the Lions ahead 10-0. ^Notes: Harrington’s 33-yard TD pass to Schlesinger was his first of at least 20 yards since Oct. 5 at San Francisco. … Rice led the Raiders with eight receptions for 71 yards and Tim Brown had six catches for 49 yards. … Smith made his 29th career interception. He was cut by New England in training campafter making two interceptions last season, and signed by Detroit on Sept. 2.