The Detroit Lions' 2011 schedule was just made public, as was the NFL's 2011 regular season schedule.
The Lions will open the season at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, meeting for the first time Detroit won in overtime toward the end of last season. Detroit's home opener will come a week later against the Chiefs. The Lions will then hit the road for games at the Vikings and Cowboys before returning home for three straight games in Detroit. The first of those three games will be on a Monday night against the Chicago Bears. The other two are against San Francisco and Atlanta.
Detroit will head out to Denver before having a bye in Week 9. The Lions will come out of the bye with a game at Chicago and home games against the Panthers and Packers. The game against Green Bay will be on Thanksgiving.
The final month of the season begins with a game at the Saints. The Lions return home a week later to host the Vikings and then head west to play the Raiders. San Diego will come to town on Christmas Eve (a Saturday game), and the Lions will close out the regular season at the Packers on New Year's Day. A full look at the Lions' 2011 schedule can be found after the jump.
Sept. 11 - at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1 p.m., FOX)
Sept. 18 - vs. Kansas City Chiefs (1 p.m., CBS)
Sept. 25 - at Minnesota Vikings (1 p.m., FOX)
Oct. 2 - at Dallas Cowboys (1 p.m., FOX)
Oct. 10 - vs. Chicago Bears (8:30 p.m., ESPN)
Oct. 16 - vs. San Francisco 49ers (1 p.m., FOX)
Oct. 23 - vs. Atlanta Falcons (1 p.m., FOX)
Oct. 30 - at Denver Broncos (4:05 p.m., FOX)
Nov. 6 - BYE
Nov. 13 - at Chicago Bears (1 p.m., FOX)
Nov. 20 - vs. Carolina Panthers (1 p.m., FOX)
Nov. 24 (Thanksgiving) - vs. Green Bay Packers (12:30 p.m., FOX)
Dec. 4 - at New Orleans Saints (1 p.m., FOX)
Dec. 11 - vs. Minnesota Vikings (1 p.m., FOX)
Dec. 18 - at Oakland Raiders (4:05 p.m., FOX)
Dec. 24 - vs. San Diego Chargers (4:05 p.m., CBS)
Jan. 1 - at Green Bay Packers (1 p.m., FOX)