Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

By NATE ATKINS -- natkins@mlive.com

With the 2017 Detroit Lions season over, it's time for the organization to move on to a new coaching staff and with it a new season. They finished 9-7 and in second place in the NFC North, and they plan to reach for something higher next season.

They won't know the order of their 2018 games until the league announces it for everyone in the spring, but the opponents are now set for the home and away slates. Here's what the Lions will have to contend with in 2018:

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Home: Minnesota Vikings (13-3 in 2017)

The Vikings rose up to a supreme level in 2017, winning the NFC North by four games despite playing with third-string quarterback Case Keenum.

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Home: Green Bay Packers (7-9)

The Packers lost Aaron Rodgers for 10 games in 2017 and watched their roster fall apart without him, particularly on defense, where they finally fired long-time defensive coordinator Dom Capers.

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Home: Chicago Bears (5-11)

The Chicago Bears have undergone a long process of retooling the roster but might have found their quarterback in the process, as No. 2 overall pick Mitchell Trubisky showed athleticism and poise playing with a hodgepodge of backup receivers in 2017.

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Home: Los Angeles Rams (11-5)

No team saw a bigger turnaround in 2017 than the Rams, who added seven wins after hiring the youngest head coach in the league in Sean McVay and letting him lead Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and a young offense to the No. 1 spot in the league in points scored.

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Home: Seattle Seahawks (9-7)

Despite a career year from quarterback Russell Wilson, the Seahawks missed the playoffs for the first time in six years as many of their stars on defense got old and hurt, foreshadowing some rare roster turnover entering 2018.

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Home: New York Jets (5-11)

The rebuilding Jets surprised some by winning even five games with such a stripped-down offensive personnel, and that mark helped retain coach Todd Bowles for another season.

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Home: New England Patriots (13-3)

The Patriots topped the 12-win plateau for the eighth straight year behind the MVP-caliber play of 40-year-old quarterback Tom Brady, though they might see some coordinator turnover this offseason.

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Home: Carolina Panthers (11-5)

The Panthers were one of six playoff teams the Lions couldn't beat in 2017 when a top-10 defense led by defensive tackle Kawann Short and linebacker Luke Kuechly shut down Matthew Stafford and the Lions to 10 points through three and a half quarters.

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Away: Minnesota Vikings (13-3)

Detroit has beaten just one playoff team in 13 tries since the start of 2016 -- but that was Minnesota last season, when the Lions pulled out a 14-7 victory on the road in Week 4.

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Away: Green Bay Packers (7-9)

The Rodgers injury helped the Lions catch up to the Pack last season, as they finished two games above in addition to outscoring them 85-28 in their first sweep of Green Bay since the 1991 season.

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Away: Chicago Bears (5-11)

The Lions finished 5-1 in the NFC North in part by sweeping the Bears to improve to 9-1 against Chicago in the past five seasons.

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Away: San Francisco 49ers (6-10)

After a 1-10 start, the 49ers won their final five games by starting former Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo and seeing their offense take off in first-year head coach Kyle Shanahan's scheme.

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Away: Arizona Cardinals (8-8)

The Lions opened last season by blowing out the Cardinals, 35-23 at Ford Field, but in 2018, they'll travel to face a team that looks a little different after coach Bruce Arians and quarterback Carson Palmer decided to retire.

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Away: Dallas Cowboys (9-7)

The Cowboys took a step back after posting the NFC's best mark at 13-3 in 2016, largely due to the six-game suspension that superstar running back Ezekiel Elliott had to serve.

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Away: Miami Dolphins (6-10)

The Dolphins also took a step back after a 10-6 wildcard finish in 2016, this time due to a bizarre year in which a hurricane forced them to play 16 straight, the offensive line coach was fired for a drug issue and discord broke out in the running game to force the trade of Jay Ajayi to the Eagles.

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Away: Buffalo Bills (9-7)

A series of circumstances in Week 17 propelled the Bills in the playoffs in 2017 and ended the NFL's longest playoff drought of 18 years, a strong accomplishment by first-year coach Sean McDermott.

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Synopsis

This isn't the easiest slate by any means. In fact, it has to be one of the most difficult in the league. The NFC North competition was already figuring to take a step up with the return of Aaron Rodgers and any growth from an incredibly young Bears team. Things change over the course of an offseason and teams will disappoint, but outside of the Jets, it's hard to find a non-divisional team that should be an easy fight next season. Almost every other team on the schedule should have legitimate postseason aspirations, which will test the growth of the Lions toward the standard general manager Bob Quinn is instilling of beating playoff teams.