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The first quarter of the 2013 NFL season revealed a lot of things. One revelation in particular is that the Detroit Lions do not have a very tough schedule, at least not as things currently stand. Their first two wins came against teams that are currently 1-3, and the rest of the Lions' schedule looks quite nice as well. Future Lions opponents currently have a combined record of 15-31, and only one team left on the schedule currently is above .500 (the team the Lions just beat on Sunday). What's more, the Lions have three games left against teams that are currently 0-4. There's a lot to like about the final three quarters of this schedule.
In Week 4, the Lions' future opponents combined to go 2-8. Here's a look at how each team performed:
Week 5 - at Packers (1-2) - Bye week
Green Bay got stuck with an early bye week this year.
Week 6 - at Browns (2-2) - beat Bengals, 17-6
How about Brian Hoyer? He went 25 for 38 for 269 yards and 2 touchdowns and led Cleveland to its second win in a row.
Week 7 - vs. Bengals (2-2) - lost to Browns, 17-6
Cincinnati's offense just couldn't get anything going in this game. Andy Dalton only threw for 206 yards on 42 attempts, and the run game only produced 63 yards on 20 carries.
Week 8 - vs. Cowboys (2-2) - lost to Chargers, 30-21
Dallas was actually up 21-10 at one point in this game. The Cowboys didn't score once after that, though, allowing the Chargers to come back and eventually take the lead for good in the fourth quarter.
Week 10 - at Bears (3-1) - lost to Lions, 40-32
Jay Cutler turned the ball over 4 times (1 fumble and 3 interceptions) en route to Chicago's first loss of the season.
Week 11 - at Steelers (0-4) - lost to Vikings, 34-27
Pittsburgh had a chance to tie things up late in this game but fumbled the ball away to Minnesota. That turnover put a stop to the Steelers' comeback attempt, which began with them down 34-17 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Week 12 - vs. Buccaneers (0-4) - lost to Cardinals, 13-10
Starting Mike Glennon at quarterback didn't result in a win for Tampa Bay, which just could not get things going on the ground. Doug Martin only picked up 45 yards on 27 carries on Sunday.
Week 13 - vs. Packers (1-2) - Bye week
See above.
Week 14 - at Eagles (1-3) - lost to Broncos, 52-20
Denver absolutely picked apart the Philadelphia defense. Peyton Manning is on another level right now, but even so, it's not a good sign that the Eagles allowed him to go 28 for 34 for 327 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Week 15 - vs. Ravens (2-2) - lost to Bills, 23-20
Joe Flacco put up big numbers in this game by going 25 for 50 for 347 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also put up big numbers in the interceptions category, as he finished with a total of 5 picks on the day. Combine that with no rushing offense whatsoever (Baltimore only ran it 9 times for 24 yards) and it's no surprise that Buffalo won this game.
Week 16 - vs. Giants (0-4) - lost to Chiefs, 31-7
New York is clearly one of the worst teams in the NFL, thanks in large part to its inconsistent offense. Eli Manning was 18 for 37 for 217 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception on Sunday, and 164 of his yards went to Victor Cruz. The Giants just can't consistently get anything going on that side of the ball.
Week 17 - at Vikings (1-3) - beat Steelers, 34-27
Adrian Peterson was Adrian Peterson in this game, as he rushed for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns on 23 carries. Matt Cassel also played well in his first start with Minnesota, throwing for 248 yards and 2 touchdowns while going 16 for 25.