Key players for Detroit Lions' 2018 opponents

Week 1 vs. New York Jets – Jamal Adams, safety: One of the few silver linings for the Jets last season was Adams’ play. The former first-round pick had a solid rookie campaign where he started all 16 games, finished third on the team with 83 tackles, and made his impact felt against the run (35 stops) and pass (six passes defensed). He anchors the secondary and is a versatile weapon who has been used at both safety spots, slot corner and linebacker.

Week 2 at San Francisco 49ers – DeForest Buckner, defensive lineman: Last season, injuries forced the Lions to start 10 different offensive line combinations and led to struggles in both run blocking and pass protection. If those problems persist, it could spell trouble against Buckner, who ranked among one of the league’s top defenders as both a pass-rusher and run defender. He led all interior defenders with 19 quarterback hits and ranked fifth with 53 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.

Week 3 vs. New England Patriots – Tom Brady, quarterback: Brady has shown no signs of slowing down and that likely won’t change if he returns for his 19th season. He had yet another impressive and seemingly routine season, leading the league in passing yards (4,577) and ranking third in passer rating (102.8) and touchdowns (32). Brady is 4-0 as a starter against the Lions and has completed 73.8 percent of his passes for 690 yards with six touchdowns and one interception in the last two meetings.

Week 4 at Dallas Cowboys – DeMarcus Lawrence, defensive end: Ezekiel Elliott and Dallas’ rushing attack gets a lot of attention, but Lawrence burst onto the scene with a breakout season where he was graded as the second-best pass rusher in 2017 by Pro Football Focus. He tied for second in the league with 14.5 sacks, recorded 79 total pressures and led all edge defenders in pass-rush productivity, which measures pressure on a per-snap basis.

Week 5 vs. Green Bay Packers – Aaron Rodgers, quarterback: The Lions dodged a bullet, twice, when Rodgers was sidelined for both of last season’s divisional games with a broken collarbone. He suffered the same injury in 2013 and followed it up with one of the best seasons of his career in 2014. He’ll look to bounce back with a vengeance once again and will also have a new red-zone weapon to work with in tight end Jimmy Graham.

Week 7 at Miami Dolphins – Kenyan Drake, running back: Drake is the last man standing from last season’s backfield battery and emerged after starter Jay Ajayi was traded to Philadelphia. He shouldered the load over the final five games and rushed for 444 yards while averaging a healthy 4.9 yards per carry. The Dolphins overhauled the roster and brought in veteran Frank Gore, but Drake will likely assume the lead back role.

Week 8 vs. Seattle Seahawks – Bobby Wagner, linebacker: Seattle’s defense isn’t as vaunted as it once was with Richard Sherman, Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett all gone, but Wagner is still arguably one of the best at his position. He didn’t miss a tackle until the final three weeks of the season and put himself in the defensive player of the year conversation before he was slowed by a hamstring injury. Wagner tied for the league lead with 97 solo tackles and finished in the top 10 among linebackers in run-stop percentage, pass-rush productivity and tackle efficiency, per Pro Football Focus.

Week 9 at Minnesota Vikings – Dalvin Cook, running back: Cook was on pace for a stellar rookie season until his promising start was derailed when he tore his ACL against the Lions in Week 4. The Vikings aren’t expecting the injury to have any long-lasting impact and he’ll likely regain his job as the featured back for the reigning NFC North champions after averaging a solid 4.8 yards per carry.

Week 10 at Chicago Bears – Jordan Howard, running back: Howard has been a reliable workhorse and has rushed for at least 1,100 yards in each of his first two seasons. Despite averaging a yard less per carry than his rookie year (4.1 from 5.2), he finished fifth in the NFL in total rush attempts (276) and sixth in rushing yards (1,122) last season. Howard has run all over the Lions at Soldier Field, racking up 236 yards with a 6.2 yards per carry average in two games.

Week 11 vs. Carolina Panthers – Cam Newton, quarterback: One of Newton’s best performances came a year ago at Ford Field, where he completed a season-high 78.8 percent of his passes and carved up the Lions for 355 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 141.8 passer rating. The completion percentage, passing yards and passer rating all ranked as the fourth-highest marks in his seven-year career.

Week 12 vs. Chicago Bears – Akiem Hicks, defensive tackle: Hicks is a run-stuffing machine and ranked second in the league with 31 run tackles for a gain of two yards or less last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Not to be outdone, he generated 49 pressures as a pass-rusher and has recorded at least one sack in three of the past four games against the Lions.

Week 13 vs. Los Angeles Rams – Aaron Donald & Ndamukong Suh, defensive tackles: As two wrecking balls in the middle, they could form the most destructive interior linemen tandem in the league. Donald, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, can single-handedly change games and led all interior defenders with 91 pressures in the regular season, per Pro Football Focus. Suh is a disruptive force and will make his return to Ford Field, where he spent his first five seasons, for the first time.

Week 14 at Arizona Cardinals – Chandler Jones, defensive end: Jones was nothing short of a stud for Arizona and led the league in sacks (17), tackles for loss (28) and quarterback hits (33). He proved to be one of the most menacing pass-rush forces on the edge and led all defenders with 65 pressures from the right side, per Pro Football Focus.

Week 15 at Buffalo Bills – LeSean McCoy, running back: McCoy is a dynamic threat as both an elusive runner and pass-catcher, and could be leaned upon heavily in a late-season game out in the elements. He ranked fourth in the league in rushing yards (1,138) despite averaging a career-low four yards per carry and tied for the league lead with 12 runs of 20-plus yards. He also has caught at least 50 passes each of the past two seasons.

Week 16 vs. Minnesota Vikings – Everson Griffen, defensive end: He has been a torn in Detroit’s side throughout his career and has recorded a least one sack five times in the last six meetings. Griffen had the best pass-rushing season of his career with 61 total pressures and career-high 13 sacks, and was a big reason why Minnesota had the No. 1 defense in the league last season.