After three weeks of the NFL season, we now have a pretty good idea of what to expect with the rest of the Detroit Lions' opponents for 2011. The next couple of weeks will be very important with a road game against Dallas and a home game against the Bears. Then you have an interesting stretch of games against one 2-1 team, the 49ers, and a bunch of 1-2 teams. The Packers come to town on Thanksgiving for one of the biggest games of the season, kicking off a stretch that includes games against the Saints, Raiders and Chargers, as well as the Vikings and the Packers again on New Year's Day.
Here's a look at how these future opponents fared in Week 3 of the NFL season:
Cowboys (2-1) - vs. Lions on Oct. 2 - beat Redskins at home, 18-16
Bears (1-2) - at Lions on Oct. 10; vs. Lions on Nov. 13 - lost to Packers at home, 27-17
49ers (2-1) - at Lions on Oct. 16 - beat Bengals on road, 13-8
Falcons (1-2) - at Lions on Oct. 23 - lost to Buccaneers on road, 16-13
Broncos (1-2) - vs. Lions on Oct. 30 - lost to Titans on road, 17-14
Panthers (1-2) - at Lions on Nov. 20 - beat Jaguars at home, 16-10
Packers (3-0) - at Lions on Nov. 24; vs. Lions on Jan. 1 - beat Bears on road, 27-17
Saints (2-1) - vs. Lions on Dec. 4 - beat Texans at home, 40-33
Vikings (0-3) - at Lions on Dec. 11 - lost to Lions at home, 26-23 (OT)
Raiders (2-1) - vs. Lions on Dec. 18 - beat Jets at home, 34-24
Chargers (2-1) - at Lions on Dec. 24 - beat Chiefs at home, 20-17