ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions (3-6) retake the practice field today looking for ways to end their three-game losing streak Sunday against Carolina (6-3). Here are five things to watch.

The receivers aren't getting open. Get this: The Lions don't have a single player ranked among the top 94 receivers/tight ends in the game in separation. Kenny Golladay leads the way with an average of 2.7 yards, which ranks 95th among all qualifying players according to the NFL's NextGenStats. And Marvin Jones is getting just 2.2 yards of separation, which is 117th. Neither player has ever created much space because of their playing styles. They're at their best downfield, where Golladay can use his 6-foot-4 frame to defeat defensive backs, and Jones can use his preternatural body control. And that has worked. But those plays take time to develop too, which is why Golden Tate was so important to the offense. He was one of the best safety valves in the game, and without him, Minnesota and Chicago sent tremendous amounts of pressure at Matthew Stafford to force him into quick decisions. With Golladay and Jones struggling to separate, Stafford simply hasn't had anywhere to go. That's a big reason why the sack numbers have spiked to 16 the last two weeks, and the offense has hit new levels of dysfunction. Yes, Stafford has held onto the ball too long. But he's got to have some place to go with it too, and Detroit has to figure out a way to create it.

Nobody's stepping up for Tate in the slot. Matt Patricia said the Lions weren't giving up on their season when they made the trade -- rather, they made the deal because they believed everyone else was good enough to step into his place. But that hasn't been reality. TJ Jones has seen the biggest spike in playing time at receiver, going from 73 snaps in the first seven games to 86 in the last two weeks -- but on those 86 snaps, he's caught just three passes for 25 yards. He's been a solid role player for Detroit before, but just isn't doing enough to help out Matthew Stafford right now. You have to wonder if veteran Bruce Ellington will get a look as he moves into his second week with the club.

How are they going to stop Cam Newton? The Lions have faced two mobile quarterbacks in the last three weeks. One, Russell Wilson, diced them up for the first perfect passer rating of his career. The other, Mitchell Trubisky, guided four straight touchdown drives to open that game, took a perfect quarterback rating into the third quarter, passed for a career-high 355 yards and accounted for three touchdowns overall. Now Newton comes to Detroit, just one season after he throttled this defense. He completed 26 of 33 passes for 355 yards -- a personal high since 2011 -- and three touchdowns in a 27-24 win. And this year, he's been more efficient than ever under new coordinator Norv Turner. He's thrown for 2,086 yards and 17 touchdowns, with just five interceptions. He has a career-high 68.5 completion percentage and has also rushed for 352 yards and four touchdowns.

Detroit's run defense will be put to the test. The good news is things seem to be improving. Aside from that 70-yarder by Dalvin Cook, they allowed just 2.6 yards per carry two weeks ago against Minnesota. On Sunday, they allowed 2.5 yards per carry against Chicago. All told, that's 182 yards on 55 carries -- an average of 3.3 a pop. Hey, that's pretty good, even with the chunk play in there. The bad news, of course, is Carolina has one of the best rushing attacks in the league. They're averaging 5.1 yards per carry, which is third best. Christian McCaffrey leads the way with 579 yards, and hey, leads them in catches too for that matter. He's going to stress this defense, as will Newton, and it should give us a better idea of whether these improvements on defense are real, or just a statistical mirage of lopsided games.

Who is even going to be available to play? Injuries are a regular part of the NFL, but the Lions are especially hurting right now. Darius Slay (knee), T.J. Lang (neck), Luke Willson (shoulder) and Eli Harold (shoulder) didn't play against the Bears because of injuries. Then Marvin Jones (bone bruise in knee) and Michael Roberts (shoulder) didn't finish the game because of injuries, while Kenny Golladay, A'Shawn Robinson, Levine Toiolo and Kerryon Johnson all left for periods of time before returning. Sam Martin also went to the hospital after the game, but says he's OK and will play against Carolina. Still, the Lions are a walking trauma unit these days, and it'll be really interesting to see who's practicing today -- and who's not.