Raiders at Panthers -- Week 16

Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C. (turf, outdoors)

Forecast: Partly cloudy, high in the mid-50s

When: Sunday, 1:00 ET (CBS)

Spread: Panthers by 8.5

Forecast: Partly cloudy with temperatures in the mid-50s.

Records: Raiders (4-10; AFC West 2-3); Panthers (5-9; NFC South: 2-3)

Past results: Two most recent meetings -- Nov. 9, 2008: Panthers 17, Raiders 6; Nov. 7, 2004: Raiders 27, Panthers 24. Series record: Tied 2-2.

What matters: The Raiders are coming off a 15-0 shutout of Kansas City. They'll try to win back-to-back games for the second time this season and win on the road for just the second time. The Raiders will face a red-hot Carolina team that has won back-to-back games, handing Atlanta just its second loss of the season (30-20) then beating San Diego 31-7. The Raiders have lost nine straight games, including four this season, in the Eastern time zone. They lost at Miami (35-13), Atlanta (23-20), Baltimore (55-20) and Cincinnati (34-10). The Panthers, however, are just 2-5 at home this season.

Who matters: Cam Newton. Period. OK, maybe that's a stretch, but not a big one. For the Raiders to have any chance of an upset, they'll have to contain Carolina's dual-threat quarterback. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Newton leads the Panthers in passing with 3,451 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushing with 647 yards and seven scores. He has a team-record streak of 152 passes without an interception -- the NFL's longest active streak. It will be largely up to outside linebackers Philip Wheeler and Miles Burris to make sure Newton doesn't burn the Raiders for big gains on scrambles or zone read runs. On offense, the Raiders will have to deal with rookie middle linebacker Luke Kuechly, a tackling machine and the leader of Carolina's defense. Carolina defensive ends Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson have combined for 21.5 sacks.

Key matchups: Raiders RBs Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson vs. Kuechly: McFadden and Goodson, a former Panther, combined to rush for 199 yards last week against Kansas City. Kuechly, based on his coaches' review of game film, has 174 tackles, an average of 12.4. ... Raiders CBs Michael Huff and Phillip Adams vs. Panthers WR Steve Smith: Smith presents a rough matchup with his combination of speed, quickness and toughness. He leads Carolina with 66 catches for 1,056 yards and three touchdowns. Adams, coming off of his second concussion in three weeks, will make his second career start. Huff spent all of his career at free safety until being forced by injuries to move to cornerback in Week 3 this year. Advantage Smith.

Injuries of note: Raiders starting defensive tackle Richard Seymour has been ruled out with a hamstring injury and will miss his seventh straight game. Starting strong safety Tyvon Branch is questionable with an ankle injury. Branch practiced for the first time this week on Friday, but was limited. He'll be a game-time decision. Last week, he practiced only once but started against Kansas City with the help of a pain-killing shot. Adams (concussion) is probable.

Inside stuff: No. 3 quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who spent much of the week impersonating Newton during practice, is expected to get a few snaps on third downs or in the red zone. Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Knapp said he wants to take advantage of Pryor's athletic ability against Carolina. In other words, he'll likely run the ball in a zone read scheme or some version of the wildcat.

Connections: Goodson played the past three seasons for Carolina but was traded to Oakland for offensive lineman Bruce Campbell in March. ... Raiders linebacker Omar Gaither played for the Panthers last season and is a native of Charlotte, N.C. ... Panthers wide receiver Louis Murphy played his first three seasons for Oakland before being traded to Carolina in September.

Record watch: McFadden has rushed for 3,244 yards in his career and needs 108 to move past Charlie Smith (3,351) and into 10th place on the Raiders' all-time list. ... QB Carson Palmer needs 145 passing yards to break his career single-season high of 4,131 set in 2007 with Cincinnati.

Stats you should know: The Raiders haven't run for a touchdown since Oct. 21 against Jacksonville and have only three rushing touchdowns all season, two by McFadden and one by Palmer.

Looking ahead: The Raiders will finish the season next week at San Diego.

Prediction: Panthers 30, Raiders 20

Follow Raiders reporter Eric Gilmore on Twitter @CBSRaiders.