Detroit Lions' 2013 opponents set

With the 2012 NFL regular season in the books, we now know which teams are on the Detroit Lions' 2013 schedule. The official schedule that includes dates, times and TV arrangements won't be announced until later in the offseason (likely April), but the opponents for 2013 are now set in stone. Here's the rundown (via the Lions):

Home: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Away: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals

The setup for the Lions' 2013 schedule is as follows:

• 6 divisional games (3 home, 3 away)
• 4 games against NFC East (2 home, 2 away)
  
• 4 games against AFC North (2 home, 2 away)
• 1 home game against corresponding NFC South team
• 1 away game against corresponding NFC West team

Upon first glance, the Lions appear to have a pretty brutal schedule. Not counting their divisional games, they have to take on playoff teams in the Ravens and Bengals at home, as well as teams that just missed the playoffs in the Cowboys and Giants. Also, the Buccaneers should be much improved in year No. 2 of the Greg Schiano era.

The away schedule looks to be pretty tough as well. Outside of the division, the Lions have really difficult games against the Robert Griffin III-led Redskins and the Steelers. They also have away games against the Eagles, Browns and Cardinals, which could all have a new head coach in 2013.

It's obviously far too early to really speculate about how many wins a team will get when you are a full offseason away, but the Lions will need to get it together in the coming months if they want to compete for a playoff spot in 2013.

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